Hello everyone, although I have replied to other people’s posts, this is the first question I’ve asked for myself. Knowing that many of you use Kardia’s, I’m hoping you can help me to make up my mind over a possible upgrade to the 6L version.
First a bit of background; I was diagnosed with AF in late 2018, confirmed in March 2019 and started on the usual mix of 2.5mg of bisoprolol and warfarin daily. I was also taking amlodipine and allopurinol together with atorvastatin.
At the time of diagnosis, I was totally asymptomatic and have remained so apart from a brief period when my meds were changed to diltiazem and amiodarone and no bisoprolol. I am convinced that the symptoms I experienced were the result of being on 2 different calcium channel blockers based on my more recent experience.
Since diagnosis, I’ve used a Viatom Heartmate to self-monitor and, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this device, it has three contacts on the right for the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand plus a single contact on the left-hand side. It can be used in two ways, firstly using the right-hand contacts and pressing the left-hand contact against the palm of your left hand or holing it against the inside of your left-hand knee. These options are simply described as “Easiest” for the two-handed option and “Clearest” for the hand-knee option.
Ok so here’s the crux of the matter; the Heartmate can diagnose 9 different heart rhythms (including NSR) at least whereas, as I understand it, the Kardia only does 4 unless you pay extra for in-depth analysis. So, the Heartmate seems to have the edge in terms of versatility and economy. I also understand the ease of being able to E-mail a copy of an ECG from a Kardia to your GP, Cardiologist or EP. With the heart mate I download the ECGs to my computer, save them as a PDF and can attach them to an E-mail if needed. Not quite as convenient perhaps but, the above only takes a couple of minutes so the Kardia has a marginal advantage. I have to say though that whenever I’ve supplied any of the above medics with copies of my ECGs, they’ve totally ignored them, and one GP denounced all such devices as “worthless”. For me then, the E-mailing feature is of dubious benefit.
So, why am I considering a change? Well, the Heartmate usually gives a different diagnosis depending on the mode of measurement even when two traces are run immediately after each other. For example, these days I usually see “Irregular Heartbeat” and “QRS too wide” from the hand-to-hand method and “No abnormal Rhythm Detected” from the hand-to-knee measurement and don’t understand why the two diagnoses should be so different.
Also, I was started on Amiodarone in March last year in preparation for my second Cardioversion, w3hich was carried out successfully in October last year. The plan was for me to have an ECG done at my GP’s surgery in February this year and, if all was well, come off the Amiodarone. Unfortunately, it showed that I was in AFib so I’m still on the Amiodarone. Again, I was totally asymptomatic and remain so at the present time. Since October last year, I’ve used the Heartmate once a week on the advice of the ward sister when my cardioversion was done and have not detected AFib despite being able to do so previously. I feel great and cycle up yo 30 miles a week with no apparent ill effects. I was doing up to 50 miles a week last year.
So, does the Kardia 6L offer me any benefits? I’d be really interested in your views on the above.