Kardia for Tachycardia

[Puzzled8]

Hi, was wondering how useful the Kardia is for Tachycardia. Would it just tell me what I already know ? Have had sinus tachycardia for past 3 years and currently taking Diltiazem 120mg twice a day. This helps a bit but hr still quite erratic - jumps up and down a lot. Cardiologist says I’m always going to have SVT and just a case of managing it with right meds, so would I be wasting my money buying a Kardia monitor ? Thanks.

[Teresa156]

Hi Puzzled8,

I hope others will have more advice soon to help you out, as I don’t have SVT or tachycardia ( I don’t think I do anyway) but paroxysmal Afib, but I do know that if you sign up to Kardia’s ‘Kardia care’ ( currently £9.99 a month) you get advanced auto diagnosis so PACs, PVCs and tachycardia and bradycardia and others, I think. There is more in their website about it. I have my reservations with this now due to past experience, so I’m not a fan.

I was signed up for about 7 months, but my Afib is currently quite infrequent and I’ve only had one episode this year. If the Kardia said you had tachycardia during an ECG, you can ask for further analysis from one of their cardiologists. You get a certain amount of ‘credits’ for this. I did this and used a ‘credit’ for my last reading as I thought there might be something else going on with my ECG ( and I asked this question) and was quite disappointed with what I received back. Kardia uses an algorithm and when you sign up to Kardia Care, your ECG produces a special seperate page for their cardiologists to read, which shows just one PQRS wave pattern from your ECG. My reading came back within 10 minutes & it was clear that whoever ‘read’ it, must have only looked very briefly at that page showing the one wave, not my full ECG. They didn’t even look at my question asking if something else was going on. There was also a generic ‘copy and paste’ from the internet on what afib was, that I obviously knew already. It told me nothing I didn’t know.

I did go back to their Customer Services about it and that was disappointing as well, but I’ve already waffled on a lot, so I won’t bore you anymore about it! I cancelled my subscription.

I did also have another auto diagnosis from it earlier in the year which said I had ‘wide QRS’’ but when I sent it to have further diagnosis I was told it wasn’t and that it was a normal, but I had a benign first degree block instead ( seemed to be a one off)…so they’re not always right.

So personally. I think they’re good for what they are and you can record your SVT episodes on them when they happen, but it won’t tell you it’s SVT unless you sign up, but it will probably say something like ‘fast heart rate’? But it’s something you can show the medical professionals if and when you see them?

This is only my opinion though, based on my experience of course.

[Puzzled8 in reply to Teresa156]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to give such a full response - not waffle at all ! I think I would tend to agree with your summation. I know the Kardia is really useful for some people with afib, helping them decide when they need to go to A&E, and it is recommended by some cardiologists, so must have it’s benefits. I just don’t think it would help me much if it’s just going to keep telling me I have a high heart rate, but then again, for those who don’t normally have a high HR, it could prove beneficial.

[Teresa156 in reply to Puzzled8]

Yes definitely - and it does have a place. I will continue to record my episodes when they happen, whatever it tells me, so I can show a cardiologist in person and it does help with that and of course, for those that aren’t sure what they have wrong, it helps with that too.

[GrannyE]

I like it because I like to have a record of what is going on so that I could show someone if needs be. I do not subscribe though. I would rather know than not know.

[Puzzled8 in reply to GrannyE]

Thank you for responding, and you will see from my other responses that I have now been persuaded !

[GrannyE in reply to Puzzled8]

I find it useful for me to know what is going on. They have come down in price and to my mind you wont regret it

[momist]

I think this depends entirely on your own attitude to your problem. If you want to keep track of what is going on, and how often, then I'd say yes. If you accept the medical viewpoint that you 'have to live with it', then no.

I will say that you certainly don't need to subscribe to the monthly fee, and would see that as a total waste of money. You can easily learn yourself how to interpret the results from the Kardia, they even have a tuition course on their own website telling you how to do that. There will be other learning resources elsewhere in the web as well, and it's amazing what power a little extra knowledge can give you when talking to the medics.

[Puzzled8 in reply to momist]

Thank you. My previous reply seems to have disappeared! Yes, I am slowly starting to come round to the view that knowledge is power. I understand too that the Kardia readings are more accurate than some other devices, so I think I will be buying one now, thanks to the helpful comments here.

[momist in reply to Puzzled8]

My Kardia is the old single lead version, which is all anyone really needs. However, they do not work with many more modern mobile phones, and I would recommend the 6L model simply because it uses Bluetooth and should work with any phone/tablet that can run the Kardia app. i.e. Android or iOS.

[wilsond]

Just picking up on the ' always going to have SVT'My god daughter has just had ablation for SVT . She was 3 on diagnosis and too young. Had to wait till 12 years old but abkation was always the aim to treat it. In the meantime she was on 200mg flecnaide a day.

Im surprised to read that you have basically been told to put up with it!

[Puzzled8 in reply to wilsond]

Thank you. Yes that’s exactly what I’ve been told. My GP referred me back to cardiologist and he wrote to her saying there was no need to see me again. He just suggested trying other meds and said I was always going to be like this. Has the ablation been successful for your god daughter ? I really hope so, as I’d hate to have been dealing with SVT from such a young age.

[wilsond in reply to Puzzled8]

Only just had it few days ago,but surgeon told her parents he was extremely confident all pathways were identified and dealt with. Yes, not ideal for a young un.Have you thought about a referral to an Electrophysiologist? They are Cardiologists who specialise in the electrics of the heart. As Bob said,Cardios are the plumbers Eps are the electricians,and GP general caretakers!

You have the right to referral under NHS but also like me you might think of booking a private initial appointment if you can run to it ( about 150 to 200 pounds) then can be transferred to NHS list.

It just seems a bit blas`e to say put up with it and take meds which do not always work well.

Good luck x

[dedeottie in reply to Puzzled8]

I have just had an ablation for SVT which appears to have been successful. The medication had stopped working. X

[minidoxie]

i have PAF and find my Kardia very useful. Sometimes I think my heart rate is high as I may feel nervous about something and when I take my reading I see that its not really a high number at all! Also you can be in tachycardia: 1) in NSR or 2) in a-fib

Kardia will indicate which one it is. I find it invaluable

[Snowgirl65]

Hello Puzzed8 -- I was perplexed that you were told nothing could be done for your SVT. I had a horrific SVT event in early October with HR at 188, which then led to an a-fib episode. Previous to that I had only a few minor episodes of a-fib since my April 2021 ablation. I'm now schedule for an SVT ablation Dec. 4th. My EP told me there's 95% assurance of never having SVT again after the procedure. Can you check with another specialist for a second opinion for yourself?

[Puzzled8 in reply to Snowgirl65]

Hi Snowgirl65, thanks for your reply and so glad you’re getting prompt treatment after your recent awful experience. I’m beginning to think perhaps my SVT isn’t quite severe enough to warrant ablation at this point. According to my watch, HR has ranged from 48 - 169 over the past month, but it doesn’t stay high for long periods . It fluctuates constantly throughout the day. I was sent to a respiratory Consultant because of the breathlessness HR is causing. He was absolutely livid at his time being wasted as he said it is so obviously my heart causing the problem. It was high and fluctuating while I was there. I am now convinced that a Kardia would in fact be a good investment for me, as the readings will be more accurate than my watch. I will take it from there and definitely seek further advice.

[Snowgirl65 in reply to Puzzled8]

I hope things work out for you. It's a shame you had to endure the wrath of that respiratory specialist. I have a Kardia Mobile device that works very well. Good luck in getting your heart rate under control.

[IncrediblyBlessed]

I would absolutely getting a Kardia to track your SVT. My cardiologist diagnosed me as SVT and said it was probably AV Node Reentry Tachycardia specifically, just off the readings from my Kardia and immediately referred me for an ablation. I had a successful ablation on June 1 and have had no SVT since. In retrospect, I had SVT for years in infrequent spurts, but it got far more frequent and severe very suddenly, with heart rates over 200bpm. You will not get specific diagnoses from Kardia, but it will give you the ability to track what is going on and have information to share with your cardiologist.