I have a store bought Omron heart monitor. I put my IPhone on it to connect readings. The problem I'm having is almost every time it records an EKG, it says I'm in possible Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), which I know I am not because having been dealing with AF for decades off and on, including wearing Holter monitors ordered by cardiologists, I'm very aware when I'm in AFib. The Omron machine even has a feature where you can send the EKG to one of their online doctors for evaluation and even they tell me I'm not in AFib
Has anyone had a similar experience? And better yet could you recommend a top of the line layman heart monitor with reliable EKG capability? Money is no object as long as I can get the best in the market.
Thank you,
Mark
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mcpacs
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If money is no object and you want the best on the market go for an AppleWatch series 6. It is the simplest to use and also monitors your heart rate every few minutes. You will need an iPhone to go with it.
Ditto, and he does have an iPhone, so it's a natural fit.I also emailed my readouts to my doc, and they are deemed acurate.
And the added benefit of user defined Hi-Lo HR alarms, fall detection and emergency# or any urgent care number you enter, plus pill reminders, and and and...oh ya....it's a watch too, and yes it's waterproof 😋
It looks like others here have more recent experience than I do - I have a polar M430 and I have used chest straps in the past and based on my experience I would recommend using something that reads your pulse from at least two different parts of your body. A strap reads from various parts of your chest, the kardia takes from two different fingers etc.
Watches read from one place and use a formula to generate a result - which has been misleading for me quite a few times.
I don't think you are right, Jonathan_C . In my mind, the watch operates by monitoring approximate pulse rate in one place on your wrist using alight sensor, but the ECG (EKG) function relies on contact with the wrist AND the fingers of the other hand, using electrical connection. That way it is measuring down both arms. At least, that's what my Withings MoveECG did until it died once it was out of warranty.
I think you are agreeing with me. My point is: use something that reads your pulse from more than one place on the body (even if its two different places in your chest).
I suppose it comes down to interpretation of 'monitor'. Something that keeps a constant watch over your pulse, or something that can measure the activity of your heart. Remember that when in AF, not all heart beats can produce a pulse, as the chambers have not adequately filled with blood on some of them. Only two electrical connections on different parts of the body can measure that.
I trust my Kardia, but only use it when I need to.
The Apple Watch (4-7) does use two electrodes, and I’ve read that these will pick up afib, with excellent accuracy. The newer Kardia is perhaps even better as it uses three electrodes to give a six lead reading. They all are limited by law in what they can report with a “label”, so, “inconclusive” (Apple) or “unclassified” (Kardia) is often the result.
I’ve used Apple’s Watch for some time and now the new Kardia 6L. I think Omron is now linked up now with Kardia.
I, too, get the same report as well as frequent that are “Unclassified”. From what I’ve read, it’s possible that the monitor isn’t reading well owing to some external interference radio source; also, I gather that frequent ectopic beats (PACs or PVCs) can cause it to misinterpret the cause and report it as “possible afib”. As well as that, there are other arrhythmias that are not afib, but are similar (my cardiologist, after a two-week Zio monitor test told me I had short bursts of “afib like activity” with tachycardia and bradycardia (as well as mild LBBB).
So, what to do? I’ve sent a couple of scans to my GP for comment, but he’s on holiday, and I’m thinking of paying for the KardiaCare service that mine offers. Could you send a trace to your doctor for comment?
A cardiologist uses a 12 lead ECG. (although there may be only 10 electrodes attached}. A heart monitor used by a person not skilled in the medical field might seem to present problems, especially if the heart monitor is not designed with the technical complexity as a doctor would use. My own experience with the Omron machine proved that. At the time I bought the device, I was having numerous Premature Atrial Contractions (PAC's). When the machine detected a PAC, it would record that as " Possible Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)". Because I questioned the AFib result the machine was showing, having been in AFib many times over the years (first AFib episode at 38 years old, now at 66 years old and having had 2 ablations, the first to correct Atrial Tachycardia, the second to correct Atrial Fibrillation), I requested Omron's physician to read the ECG. They told me I was in "Normal Sinus Rhythm" (NSR) with ectopic (irregular) heartbeats or PAC's. I even went to a physician at an Urgent Care Clinic and he basically told me the same thing the Omron physician said, that I was having Supraventricular (above the ventricles) irregular heartbeats, which are PAC's originating from the top of the heart. The doctor told me I was in Normal Sinus Rhythm with frequent PAC's, not AFib.
In my opinion, I believe these store bought heart monitors may be fine for detecting pulse rate, blood pressure and even irregular heart rhythm. But as far as providing an ECG, not as reliable. If you're concerned go to an emergency room or clinic where they can access your condition very accurately. Recently when my heart was beating wildly out of rhythm, I went to a clinic. They took me in immediately and took an ECG, not taking any chances that I may have been having a heart attack. The doctor even told me if I was in AFib, he would call an ambulance and take me to a hospital for further advanced testing and diagnosis. But since I was not in AFib or having a heart attack, I called my cardiologist, he reviewed the ECG taken at the Urgent Car Clinic and sent me home. My cardiologist says PAC's are benign and not to worry about, even though they can make you feel bad and can be somewhat frightening.
Thanks for that valuable information and insight. I gather the Kardia is highly regarded for what it achieves. The newer 6L device gives 6 views (i.e. "leads") but uses only 3 electrodes. I have no idea how it achieves this but I've read several independent clinical reports in which the authors suggest it does so surprisingly well and is capable of providing entirely reliable ECG traces with accurate views of those parts of the heart.
My main symptoms these days (after my ablation for flutter in 2019) are, apart from mild LBBB, sudden mild tachycardia (mostly first thing in the morning or on even mild exercise, up to 130 bpm) and runs of ectopic beats. My doctor tells me there's nothing at all to worry about but, benign they might be, goodness me, they are wearing at times.
Thanks Steve, maybe I should purchase and try out the Kardia 6L monitor.
Similar to what you said, I used to have sudden bursts of tachycardia which were picked up on an event monitor my doctor had me wear. At the time, my doctor read the monitor as Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT). However, when my electrophysiologist went in to perform the ablation, he said it was actually Atrial Tachycardia.
My main concern right now are ectopics (skipped beats) which can be very stressful. Many times I don't even notice them but at other times, they can make me feel somewhat breathless. My cardiologist says not to worry about them.
We’re in the same boat completely by the sounds of it. It’s a great comfort at least to know that the plumbing is good even if the electrics are less than wonderful!
Despite what I said in my previous post about these "store bought heart monitors", I just purchased a KardiaMobile 6L Personal EKG Device and Heart Monitor from Amazon. It appears to be getting positive comments from those on this blog. Thanks to all for your valuable input.
Not thoroughly familiar with Kardia or the Apple Watch monitors. But for a person with afib, it is important to get continuous ratings. Your heart rate may change within seconds.
Hi, I was advised by the Arrythmia nurse that cardiologists would 9nly accept readings from kardia mobile! I have an Apple Watch and they won’t accept a reading from that!
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