Kardia readings.

[ETHEL103]

Had a chat with my gp today as I was worried about high hr showing on my Kardia.I also asked why my finger oximetre and amaz watch showed much lower readings.Also told him about cv last Sat.He explained that the kardia was the hearts electrical activity and the pulse is different because it gets changed by the heart itself.Anyone explain it a bit clearer please as on the phone time is short,18 mins and he bombarded me with loads.Hubby was listening in to and agreed it was a bit hard to understand.Does it mean I shouldn't keep working about Kardia reading of 125 but a much lower pulse at wrist.Sorry for long post.

[Paulbounce]

Hi Ethel.

Try the pinned post at the top of the page. I must say I'm a little unsure about these monitors now from my experience. I used to be all for them but my view has changed.

It can take a bit of pratice to find your pulse and have a watch ready. I'm sure hubby would help do this and give a count.

Good luck sweatheart.

Paul

[Paulbounce in reply to Paulbounce]

PS Ethel. If you find getting a reading from your wrist a problem (it can hapenen with us afibbers) as we can have weak pulse try your neck. Google it but 9 times out 10 you'll find it.

Paul

[ETHEL103 in reply to Paulbounce]

Hi Paul yes have tried my neck.Its definitely different from my kardia reading.Maybe I'm worrying over nothing.

[Paulbounce in reply to ETHEL103]

Sure Ethel. Don't worry sweeheart it's part of afib. My thoughts now are getting to stage were I couldn't care less anymore. Contol my rate and it will do me.

It's easy to worry - we know this. Please note though these monitors are not always 100%. I think they cause more worry than help. Mine have all been put in the bin - I know when I have a problem without such things making me worry more.

Have a lovely evening.

Paul

[Ppiman]

I'm interested by what you're finding. At least as I recall it, the last time I had AF, my Kardia showed the same HR as my Apple Watch, and the same as my fingers. Certainly, for tachycardia, both measure the same. The ECG app on the Apple Watch is the one to use but the normal HR app works fine, too.

During AF the pulse is irregular and it might be that this confuses the oximeter, and, possibly, the Apple Watch and Kardia use some kind of averaging method that results in different readings? My AF is so infrequent that I can't test this easily.

Steve

[Buffafly in reply to Ppiman]

Kardia averages over 30 seconds . So yesterday my HR came out as an average of 110 although the range was 70 to 133.

[Ppiman in reply to Buffafly]

I think the Apple Watch does the same, but they both count as they go, too - up and down as the pulse varies. I hadn't realised that the final figure was an average over the 30 seconds. That makes sense. The Apple Watch shows heart rate variability, too - I'm just looking up what that means.

I was a bit surprised that in the Kardia "History" it seems not to be possible to separate out and view AF, which the Apple Watch allows. For people like me where AF is unusual, that is very helpful.

Steve

[Buffafly in reply to Ppiman]

Kardia suggests that you take a reading while resting and in NSR to get a baseline. After that the assumption is you will only record AF when you feel it. I record NSR annually and do one recording when AF starts, one when it settles down a bit and one if I’m not sure if it has really stopped and make note of stop time. I also record any other noticeable arrhythmias such as big Emily 😂 bigeminy!

[Ppiman in reply to Buffafly]

If I only used it for AF, it wouldn't get used much but I have such a lot of "Wide QRS" (thanks to LBBB), "NSR with PVC", "Tachycardia" and "Unclassified" (which presumably are multiple ectopic beats). The way I feel when I have AF is similar to the others so I end up using it quite a bit. Slight breathlessness and tiredness are the main symptoms I suppose.

Steve

[Hidden]

You should rely on the Kardia not the pulse oximeter as the latter may not produce valid readings for AF. Whilst some hospital-grade pulse oximeters can do this, others may not be able to. The Kardia also has the advantage that you or your doctor can check that the counted number of bpm matches the trace on the ECG.

[Buffafly]

I think it depends on how irregular your irregularities are when in AF. Yesterday I had AF and the speed was very up and down from 70 to 130+ and some little shivers in between which nothing could count! Today Kardia still says AF but my HR is almost regular and much slower. A pulse oximeter or green light watch counts blood flowing through capillaries where tiny weak beats can’t be counted and it can’t keep up with speedy bursts. Devices like Kardia register electrical impulses which may be too weak to affect blood flow. However, if you are talking about a difference when in Sinus rhythm I can’t explain that!

Yes, do not worry about readings! If your oximeter says you are getting a reasonable number of strong beats and enough oxygen and you feel mostly ok then you are ok!

[Ducky2003]

I only use my pulse oximeter to check O2 sat now as the pulse figure is Jackanory when I'm in AF.

[ETHEL103]

Thank you everyone.

[momist]

Any pulse monitor that uses a little light, like on a watch or a phone app, is using the reflected light seen by a photocell to detect the slight pinking of the skin caused by the capillaries swelling in response to the increase in blood pressure during a heart beat. In order to do this, they usually have an algorithm to average out the rate, and also only detect within the 'expected range' of 50 to 120 beats per minute. Whenever your heart is misbehaving, especially in AF when the beats come at random times, not every beat will cause a sufficient increase in blood pressure, and the rate can be all over the place and very often outside 'normal' range. The optical device will not detect this, and either grossly under-read the rate or simply stop working.

The Kardia (and ECG capable watches) measures the electrical signals from the heart as conducted down your two arms, and therefore from across your chest. This is why you must sit still to take the readings, as other muscular activity will cause interfering electrical signals. Reading the electrical activity will reveal every beat of the heart even is no blood gets pumped at all.