KARDIA upgrade?

[melismos]

I was obsessive using this clever little gadget but use my Kardia less frequently now. Is the upgrade, which costs $129.99 per year, worth having? Better than an Apple Watch? Obviously the the upgrade it's no match for a 12-trace ECG reading.

[Physalis]

What did you use your Kardia for? What help do you think the upgrade might give you?

I guess the six lead version could help with diagnosing odd heart rhythms but do you have unanswered questions?

With me, being able to do ECGs at home, enabled me to record how long I was in AF. I could have used anything, a Kardia, an Apple watch or one of the other tools now available.

What do other members use their Kardias for? I suppose it's useful for anyone who is trying to catch an ECG showing AF. If you have bad symptoms, do you need to have something on hand to tell you you're in AF. It might be more useful for anyone who is asymptomatic to get to grips with what is going on.

I would quite like to know.

[mjames1 in reply to Physalis]

" If you have bad symptoms, do you need to have something on hand to tell you you're in AF."

Afib, aflutter, Atach, SVT, even serial ectopics, may share similar symptoms. I use my Kardia to document and differentiate my various tachyarrhythmia's, as well as share them with my ep to better direct treatments. I also have and use the Apple Watch but the Kardia is superior for a number of reasons.

Jim.

[Physalis in reply to mjames1]

I guess I just had common or garden AF so they all looked pretty much the same.

The Apple watch is more helpful in some ways because it records the hr all day and night. And for that matter, steps, resting hr, walking hr, hr variability and so on all the time. I put them on a spreadsheet daily but am not sure if it does any good!

[mjames1 in reply to Physalis]

Physalis, don't get me wrong, I love my Apple Watch and am wearing it right now!

But if I had to pick one for the specific purpose of helping to diagnose and document arrythmia's, I would choose the Kardia.

Steps used to work great, but lately it's either under counting, or I'm getting lazy The other metrics you mention are nice but not always accurate. And their afib and high heart rate tracking and alarms-- great in concept but somewhat unreliable.

Jim

[Physalis in reply to mjames1]

To be honest the only one thing that is important to me in what I record is my weight, which is something my watch doesn't tell me, I have to stand on the scales.

I don't do ECGs any longer but I use the watch most often for the timer. One day I might have a fall and it will tell my family about it which could be useful.

I've never worn a watch before but now I feel lost without it.

[splashrollandplod in reply to Physalis]

I am 66. I got AF 3 years ago mid triathlon. I had an ablation 11 months ago, it seems to have worked. I got a Kardia 6L and it was useful in detecting/confirming asymptomatic AF. I also use it to detect ectopics - I don’t get many now but as I am back to exercise/training, I do get some after more intense workout - that tells me to rest up rather than go again the next day. This approach isn’t based on medical advice, it just seems to make sense to me (similar to HRV which I also use). On the 2 or 3 occasions I used the Kardia 6L to detect AF, I took the ecg from it to the doctors surgery. The doctor and nurses remarked how the Kardia ecg was identical to their 12 lead version. Lead 2 is the AF giveaway - lack of P waves is easiest to spot there. I would say that if you’re the worrying type the Kardia may cause you more anxiety than it’s worth, I’m not.

[frazeej in reply to Physalis]

My 1 lead Kardia was invaluable and was able to provide clear documentation of my paroxysmal a-fib to my cardioguy and finally allow a diagnosis/medication. (All the 12 lead ecg's and Holters were normal, of course). Now I just use it to document the rare ectopic/PVC that I experience.

[mjames1]

Hi, Can you please be a little more specific about what "upgrade" you are talking about.

Are you talking about a hardware upgrade or their paid monthly service? If the latter, what is being offered, because I believe their monthly service differs depending on what part of the world you are in.

Jim

[Hidden in reply to mjames1]

I'm guessing, judging on the price quoted, going up to the 6L version?

[pottypete1]

I have a 6 lead Kardia but now I only need to use it for recording my rhythm for my EP as necessary. For that purpose it is invaluable.

To decide if I am in AF (which I normally just feel) is to take my pulse.

Pete

[momist]

What do you want it for? My old two lead Kardia does all that I have ever needed. I can check that my problem _is_ AF. (I sometimes get digestive beating sensations in my chest that are nothing to do with my heart). I can keep a record of the severity and maximum rate of my AF. I have learned to recognise the basic patterns that prove it is AF, but wouldn't have a clue about what any other finer detail on an ECG might show me. My GP and my EP have only ever glanced at my print outs and then agreed with me that they show AF, although the EP I think does file them away with my other records.

If you can think of any other use for a more complex readout, then go ahead, but I can't.

[Prettywoman15 in reply to momist]

Curious. Could you explain digestive beatings. I may have something like that

[momist in reply to Prettywoman15]

Sometimes, always after eating, I get a kind of pulsing in my chest which is nothing to do with my heart. I think I'm feeling the stomach's activity during digestion, as if it is pulling at the oesophagus where it passes close to the heart. It is an erratic pulsing, like a slower AF feeling. I've had some reflux problems for a couple of years, and take 20mg famotidine twice daily for that. The lansoprazole that was tried first actually made me sick and have the runs, like food poisoning.