Kardia or watch

[Karendeena]

Hi everyone, I am thinking about getting a kardia mobile or would I be better with a watch. I have an android phone. I would like to be able to see my heart rate in the night, then again I might get paranoid! Help what should I buy? 🥺

[BobD Volunteer]

You said it. Unless you can be sure you can avoid getting obsesssive, best avoid gismos. Kardia is great for ECGs but you have to take each 30 second trace at a time. No full time working.

[mjames1]

It depends what you want it for.

Kardia is great for taking medical grade ekg's that can help compliment your treatment. This can offer you peace of mind, because nothing causes stress more than not knowing what is going on.

They can also be shared with your doctors, so arrhythmia's can be documented and identified as opposed to "Hey doc, I have this fluttering thing in my chest, what do I do?". You will be taken much more seriously with an ekg than with that common explanation

If you do get a Kardia, I recommend the 6L model, after using all of them.

Watches on the other hand, have additional features depending on the model. While they don't offer real time ekg's (you have to manually take them like with Kardia) they can give you real time heart rate readouts. For example, Apple Watch can give you a historical readout of the percentage of time you're in afib, based on periodic checking.

Jim

[fra48 in reply to mjames1]

Hi, have a look at Wellue monitor ecg (on Amazon for example), which exactly allows a full night monitoring. I don’t have it but it is on my shopping list since a while and i could decide to get it one day…

[kitenski in reply to fra48]

fra48 they are much cheaper direct, and have some double discounts on some models at the moment. getwellue.com/

[Hidden in reply to mjames1]

Great bio 😉

[CDreamer]

I find both extremely useful, I don’t get paranoid using them but they do two entirely different jobs so ideally - both?

If you have an android phone you will need a compatible watch, I use Apple so can’t help you there except to say whatever you buy look at the features it offers. I use the exercise app for seeing how my HR recovery rate and find that useful and the average resting rate and the nighttime ranges. This can be extremely useful information for your doctors but remember it is about ranges and averages and not a minute by minute account to scare yourself so limit yourself to once a day or if you want to check something.

Apple Watch does have an ECG function as well but I find it not as good as the Karelia.

If you want to monitor ECG for capturing paroxysmal AF then Karelia for sure as it is well tested and approved and accepted by most doctors. It will work with most tablets and phones.

[Hidden in reply to CDreamer]

Spell check has such a lot to answer for but you have reminded me of a beautiful piece of music…..😂😉😂

youtu.be/adKwG9ZuzFw(Not working as expected?)

[Rainfern in reply to Hidden]

Beautiful!😊

[CDreamer in reply to Hidden]

It keeps doing that - I corrected it 3 times!

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to CDreamer]

It makes me think of the wind and different changes in the weather. One minute calm and the next stormy.

Is it an omen for you CDreamer re the crazy wind we're forecast tomorrow?

Jean

[CDreamer in reply to jeanjeannie50]

I haven’t looked at the forecast……and now 300 miles away so we miss a lot of the weather the West Country get. I wish you calm sailing Jean, as always 😄

[Jetcat]

Iv had a little kardia device for a few years now and it’s come in very handy. I got an apple smart watch bought for Christmas but they need charging every day so I gave it away to my son in February.!! I’m now back on the old faithful Fitbit mainly just to track my heart rate through the day. Whatever you get just make sure you don’t get obsessed with checking up on it all time.????

[Lucy61 in reply to Jetcat]

Hi can anyone please recommend a good fitbit on amazon I have heart failure pacemaker dependent my blood pressure is dipping a lot now as is my oxygen the apple watch I couldn't get along with it bought a fitbit that I found so much better but needs constant charging about every 2 days or so should I buy a more expensive one I have cardiovascular disease heart failure pacemaker irregularities a lot in my heart be greatful for any recommendations

[Jetcat in reply to Lucy61]

I personally don’t rate Apple Watches at all. They need charging all time. I had a series 8 bought for Christmas and gave it away to my son 6 weeks later in February.!! I’m back on a Fitbit and it’s brilliant. I also have the kardia for if I need to take a ecg.👍

[macymoo007]

Hi. I have an Apple Watch. Yes very pricey but wouldn’t be without it. Although I can feel when I’m going in to af I like it to monitor how high my heart rate is. It also keeps a record of things which is good when speaking to some cardiologist (some are a bit dismissive of the watch)

[Rainfern in reply to macymoo007]

My EP recommended iWatch and has one himself 😊

[Ppiman]

It really depends on the nature of your AF and any other arrhythmias. I have been lucky enough to try Kardia, Apple and Wellue AI devices. The Kardia and Apple Watch tie in my view for accuracy, but are only really useful for AF. The Apple Watch is excellent as it also does blood oxygen and, of course, is a genuinely useful item for exercise, phoning, texting, etc. For £10/month the Kardia will pick up a very few more arrhythmias like PVC and Wide QRS. The Wellue has its own AI method, which picks up a vast range of heart issues and that is included free of charge. It also offers much longer read times, and the alternative of chest leads which produce a noiseless recording every time.

Steve

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to Ppiman]

Do you find the blood oxygen levels useful. I don’t rate this function at all. It seems very inaccurate compared with the hospital finger clips, which always give a consistent 99-100 but the watch reading is all over the place.

[Ppiman in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Hi there, AL. To be honest, I rarely use that function, but I thought it worth mentioning as I’ve read that some seem to like it a lot. When I test mine, it always seems to work okay and correlates with my finger clip.

I’ve just tested it now , in fact, for this post, and both the clip and the watch register the same at 96% which seems typical for me.

Steve

[kitenski]

It does depend on what you are trying to do. I have the Apple Watch and it has identified me having some AF overnight a few times, and I've also used it to try and track down an issue with Flecainide (Posted in a different thread). I also find it useful to check resting HR overnight. I think the newer Samsung and Google Android watches now do ECGs, worth checking features carefully if that is what you want to get.

I did have a Kardia, but even with paying extra for KardiaCare I often got unclassified readings. I've since switched to a Wellue device and the AI analysis has been much better in identifying things the Kardia couldn't. getwellue.com/

[Rainfern]

Hi Karendeena, I was doubly naughty and bought both iwatch and iPhone as recommended by an EP. Kind of compensation for being diagnosed with the dreaded AF - I needed a treat! I’m in love with both - a great combo. Takes brilliant photos as well as measuring sleep (an ongoing issue for me), tracking activity, standing and workout time, steps etc. It motivates me to get daily exercise and gives my wrist a buzz for messages and reminders. And most importantly I’ve been able to send ECGs to my EP cardiologist, keep an eye on HR, and get a picture over time of any changes. The only obsession so far has been ensuring both watch and phone remain charged - they do run down quite fast!

[RedwoodDweller]

Been using Withings Scanwatch for 2 years. AFib, heart rate, ECG features all easy. Looks like a real watch and only needs monthly charge.

[Banquo]

Definitely need to decide if you want a watch for other things? Like workouts or gps or fancy ones with maps, say. I love my Garmin for all that, plus it tracks sleep (not very well) and HR (really well). If you just want a heart rate monitor there are many cheaper options..like a slightly older fitbit for example..some of those even have ECG capability of that's impt to you. Garmin is slowly getting into the ECG capable watches but as yet have very limited models with that feature (I think only one currently). I have a Kardia 6L that ive used to send PDFs to my EP, and I also bought a Wellvue that I can wear via chest strap that monitors up to 24hrs! Been really useful to have something beyond the 30 second glimpse. I like gizmos though.. as you well know, with AF you can become obsessive checking HR and such...if you're like me you already know pretty much immediately if you go into lasting AFib.. but generally speaking, I like the data and something to check (same with sleep tracking for that matter). Health metrics are becoming big business so plenty of gizmos and tech out there .. and getting better all the time.

[kayberry]

I have an Iwatch that I am totally attached to…I only have afib every year or so. I also have an implanted loop recorder, so I have verified the readings of Watch with recorder. This was very reassuring to me to know that the Iwatch is picking up afib and confirmed by recorder. (Recorder battery has recently died after 3 years). My only afib episode occurred at 6:30 am few months ago…. My Iwatch woke me at 6:30 am with an alarm saying I was in afib which continued until about 9pm same day at which time it notified me I had reverted back to NSR. I then checked with electrophysiologist office who monitor via the implanted recorder and went online for recorder info…. There it was!!! Iwatch and implanted loop recorder showing exact same results!!! I now feel 100% confident that my Iwatch is totally accurate!!! I wear it all the time it isn’t being charged and am amazed at the Info it gives me.

[iris1205]

Kardia, hands (and hearts) down. I have both.

I find the apple watch far less accurate and in terms of O2... very poor readings, everything depends on having the watch perfectly placed on your wrist, not too tight, not too loose!

I love the watch for everything BUT Afib! The watch is also less useful if you have rapid AF, often under reads the AF and/or comes up with unclassified - which Kardia rarely does.

In the end, just like Afib, no one has the same effects or recordings!

Hope you find what you like, and have relief from AF!

[Ppiman in reply to iris1205]

My finger clip is also quite finicky about size and coldness of finger, with my wife struggling to get reading at times.

I find the Apple Watch ECG generally sound but unusable at times if I’m at all sweaty. The Blood O2 app I rarely use but I’ve just tested both the Watch and clip at 96%.

The Kardia was too much per month for the number of times it wouldn’t report, but otherwise it’s a neat and very practical device. I’ve switched to Wellue AI and find that in some ways less easy to use than the Kardia was, but it’s vastly more informative.

Steve

[Skyboy9]

I have had Kardia Mobile for a couple years. My (two) cardiologists agree it is a reliable ECG tool. I do have KardiaCare subscription that sends reports to my care team. Very affordable compared to Apple Watch. I, too, will add 'don't obsess'! My doctors say focusing too much on symptoms can raise anxiety levels, which, yes, increase the heart rate.

[Ellie-Ann]

recommend Kardia. I have a smart watch but Kardia is more reliable,