I'm now at 11 days after an ablation with rapid and irregular heartbeat and still feeling tired and light-headed. I've just had the follow-up appointment date, it's in early September.
I had an ecg last week and am waiting to hear the outcome and plan, if any, from the arrhythmia nurse.
I've been looking at the KardiaMobile single lead device and wondering whether there's any real benefit in self monitoring. I don't want to obsess about what's going on as its early days and don't want to just leave it in a drawer and waste the money. I'd be grateful for shared experience and whether the subscription is worth having in addition.
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JoDogBlue
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hello , I have bought one couple of weeks ago , for me I thought would be a good idea , but I use it quite often , but I have been very anxious and down , they are good in the case of catching something while waiting for your appointment, also you’ve got evidence of it , might save time going on waiting lists for things like 24 hr monitors etc , I have the kardi care single lead , I have not bothered with subscription, always says no abnormal rythym , so if it changed I might consider it , it may just get things sorted quicker , I’ve had 2 ablations after a couple of weeks you should be feeling ok. Just take it easy
I found it incredibly useful and after the first one (bought in 2013) fell apart 3 years ago I invested in the 6 lead on advice of EP for particular purpose as I used to take monthly reports to appointment and it helped identify a particular issue for me. Since then, I’ve hardly used it but my husband does quite regularly and he finds it helpful. Neither of us have become obsessive about it however neither of us are worriers. We both have pacemakers and it seems to agree with the PM app about our AF burden, mine is now about 2%.
It you are a worrier then you need to be careful as it can cause concern. Sometimes it will come up with things like ‘Unclassified’ which is meaningless and means the algorithm cannot identify - but then often it will be movement or interference from external source.
I wouldn’t subscribe but then because we got in during the trial period we get quite a lot of the paid for features anyway but there are work arounds.
If you are anxious and are not confident with uncertainty, probably a not a good idea but if you want to collect evidence to take to your appointment and are disciplined about using it and not getting obsessive and trust your body’s feedback over the machine - go for it.
I'm a worrier and have a KardiaMobile 6L. Knowing what is going on is actually reassuring - obviously unless there's a problem. If there's a problem, you're better off knowing about it so long as you do something about it. Thinking there's a problem and not doing anything about it just results in worrying about the potential problem unless/until it goes away or I do something about it.
YMMV so you need to determine whether "glass" would be "half empty" or "half full" by you getting Kardia. For me it is definitely a positive.
Hi,In two weeks I will see the cardiologist for the first time. A few weeks ago I got a six lead Kardia thinking I could show him relevant readings but I don't think it will be possible.
My heart is constantly pounding and I can take umpteen readings a day all showing 'possible AFib', 'bradycardia' or 'unclassified'.
I already have hundreds and don't know how to choose which he would be interested in. To be honest I have reached the stage where I think it is pointless for me.
I'm not trying to put you off as I know many people in the forum find it useful, I'm just giving another view.
I don’t use mine much any more but there is a facility to put a star against recordings. I tend to star ones with something different to ‘normal’ ie long pauses, very fast runs, ectopics in patterns. I would ‘star’ your most extreme recordings then choose one AF, one bradycardia and one unclassified from those. As you have hundreds that might be too much of a mission so you could randomly choose one of each instead. If you are a Kardia Care member there is a handy ‘advanced filtering’ facility which takes some of the sorting pain away but I’m a member (free as an early adopter) and don’t really use it as I limit my recordings.
I'll have to set aside a day to go through them 😂 at least until I get totally fed up with it.I'm not recording any more at the moment because there's no point.
For me, knowing my Afib status is much less stressful than not knowing, or waiting for an appointment to have an EKG taken, which may or may not capture an event.
At least in the United States they have a 30 day trial/return. Why don't you get one and use the trial period to see if it's useful.
I would recommend the slightly more expensive 6L (6 leads) model. This model has improved connectivity (Bluetooth) compared to the cheaper model, and provides more information if referred to a cardiologist. You can also use it as a single lead device if you choose.
When I had paroxysmal AF for the first 22 years I was aware of episodes. Once I was on the right medication, just a high dose of Flecainide, and an anticoagulant, my episodes reduced to one or two ten-minute episodes a yearAfter 22-23 years I was found to be in persistent AF, which I've agreed now permanent.
Because Flecainide worked for me, there was no point in spending good money on a Kardia. Now I am in permanent AF, it would be a waste of money.
I'm not anxious about my health. I respect my ailments, and take prescribed medication. My greatest bugbear is not AF, not asthma, not lymphoedema, not BPH, but is foot drop of my right foot. I fell getting on a bus a fortnight ago, effectively scraping my shin against the edge of the floor of the bus. The subsequent bruising is taking a long time to heal.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm not convinced it's worth me getting a Kardia..I was in permanent AF after covid, was in NSR after a cardioversion and am now back in abnormal rhythm after an ablation. I can tell what's going on from feeling my pulse and think on reflection that's as much info as I need just now. I'll think about getting one if my ablation failed, but it's early days.
Ouch! That will be sore, and quite a shock to fall like that. I'm sorry to hear your bruising still hasn't healed, I hope you will soon be fully recovered.
You're very tall! And it's a lot further to fall than for most people so you will have come down extra hard. It might be a little while longer until the bruising goes completely.
Not at this stage. Recovery from ablation takes at least 3 months, maybe longer. Only then should you be thinking of doing monitoring (if you still have need).
I’ve got one and was the reason I finally got diagnosed and got on a list for an ablation. Have to be honest I wouldn’t have been without it after ablation as it allowed me to clearly see what was going on when I had my few weeks of hellishness. I get some people get obsessed with it but luckily I’m not but just find it allows me to see what’s going on even now and it’s why I know I’ve had no AFib in over 3 months now albeit I am getting some ectopic beats (which show as a squiggly beat) I know it’s hard but please remember you’re early days and my first 4 weeks were pretty awful overall but that all changed
meant to also say that my arrhythmia nurses asked for my readings and emailed them so they could review them when I was having events of 160bpm that lasted 4 days so my view is best money I ever spent
I have a 6-lead Kardia device. It's not that useful to me since I know when I'm in a-fib anyway because I'm very symptomatic. What's useful, however, is the fact that I can record the event and send it in pdf format to my EP who then puts it in my file.
I’ve tried Kardia and now use Wellue, which uses excellent AI and offers longer ECG runs of up to 24-hours. I do like using these things and both brands are good. The Kardia is more limited in what it can detect but is a lovely neat device. You might feel a need to pay a monthly fee for it as that extends what is can diagnose beyond AF, as I did, hence my purchase of the Wellue, eventually.
But… I wouldn’t use anything till you’ve have your follow up as you need to not worry while the scars heal and not go climbing Everest!
The “blanking” period is at least six weeks (different studies I’ve read seem to vary on this as an indicator of eventual ablation success), and ectopics and similar can, I gather, be common for far longer.
I got one a few months ago. The box is still unopened. In fact, I haven't even taken off the cellophane wrapper. But generally between me and the plateau in my heart rate recorded by my Garmin watch, I know when my heart is in afib and when not.
I think I would be chasing up the arrhythmia nurses again, someone should at least tell you what was captured on the ECG and maybe a plan to intervene to try and settle things down for you. I would be ringing them every day if still irregular. Dont be afraid to make a nuisance of yourself if they haven’t come back to you.
Thanks for your advice; I've just left a message for the nurses requesting a call back with the ecg result and whether any intervention is appropriate.
My scheduled follow-up appointment will be five months after the ablation which seems like a long stretch. I'm guessing summer and holidays might be a factor but I'm considering seeing the EP consultant privately as a one-off after the three month blanking period.
Yes, the follow up is assuming all is ok with your recovery but because you’ve had irregular rhythm again since you’re entitled to and should contact them and they will discuss with your EP on your behalf. I was calling and emailing them when I had episodes in the blanking period but I reverted without intervention. You shouldn’t need a consultation in the first year as you have this direct access to the team via the nurses, trouble is these days we need to chase things up unfortunately.
I have a 6 lead one and I really like having it. It has made me less stressed about palpitations. I always think I have a-fib and that stresses me, so when I see on the device it is just palpitations or nothing at all, I calm down and it eventually stops. If it is confirmed that I have a-fib I take an extra Flecanaide pill and that usually stops it. I also email my cardiologist before every check up with the reports and he reviews and appreciates the info. I think the monthly report feature is only available with the $10/mo subscription, but I am not sure. I also lost my device and Kardia replaced it for free.
I use a Kardia (6 lead) and I really like it, but I also have an applewatch, which I also really like. I did subscribe for a very short period, but found it very disappointing and I wouldn’t recommend it, personally. Their ‘cardiologists’ come back to you very quickly , if you send them an ECG to analyse ( sometimes too quickly, I had a response once within 10 minutes) but I found that their analysis seemed very ‘cut and paste’ and very impersonal and seemed to come straight from the internet. It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t know already. You aren’t able to ask them a specific question, I did - and it was ignored. Even though my profile lists I’m on medication for Afib, they don’t take that into account either or the fact I had Afib. I unsubscribed.
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