Please can anyone explain ? My Kardia can show a result of Afib or SVEs even when my heart rhythm appears to be constant. It can show heart rhythm of say 61 throughout a 30 second trace, without fluctuation, yet reveal I have an irregular heart rate. As we are often told to check our pulse and if it’s even, then that’s good way of knowing if you have arrythmia at the time. I am confused.
Annie.
One way to tell if your heart rate is regular or a irregular is to check at the pulse. However, that's not always as accurate as an EKG from your Kardia.
So it's possible it feels like your pulse is regular, but actually it's not, especially if the Kardia says a fib or SVE.
Hopefully that answers your question but without actually looking at the EKG, it's hard to be more specific.
Also, while the Kardia EKGs are medical grade, the actual interpretations, while very accurate are not perfect. That's why you shouldn't make any important decisions on a Kardia EKG unless your shit sure what it means or you run it by your doctor. Preferably an electrophysiologist.
Jim
Thanks Jim. I agree with what you say, but so much emphasis is generally put on ‘check your pulse ‘, when in fact it seems it isn’t really an accurate way of judging whether or not you are arrhythmic. Also true about Kardia. I have had readings that I’ve sent to be examined by a Kardia cardiologist , only to receive a different result. Thanks for responding.
Annie.
Also true about Kardia. I have had readings that I’ve sent to be examined by a Kardia cardiologist , only to receive a different result
Just to put things in perspective, the 12 lead EKG at your doctors office also has automatic interpretations. But they are also not 100% accurate and in fact, a good electrophysiologist ignores them and just their training for interpretation.
Jim
I sometimes think Kardia just stresses me !
I won't get one for that reason
didn’t realise that!
".... so much emphasis is generally put on ‘check your pulse ‘, when in fact it seems it isn’t really an accurate way of judging whether or not you are arrhythmic."
We're all different and the advice provided by others is usually based on their own experiences i.e. their circumstances. So that method of detecting arrythmia probably works for a lot of people. I first detected my arrythmia when taking blood pressure and hearing the heart beats being broadcast from my BPM. I could clearly hear my irregular heartbeats which eventually diagnosed as AF. Similarly I could detect them by feeling my pulse but that appears to be more difficult now that I am medicated. However I use my smart devices (watch and Kardia) when I sense I am having an episode.
Yes, I agree we are all different and that what works for one may not for another. I find my Kardia ( or even my now abandoned cheap ‘health’ watch ! ) show the pulse’s irregularities clearly, but time and again you read that it’s important for everyone to check their pulse to see if it is irregular, when in fact it’s possible, even probable that it will seem regular when it isn’t. The people with that result will continue in happy ignorance of their arrhythmia. I just think it would be better if the public were told the check wasn’t infallible. Having said all that, I suppose I am suggesting everyone in the world has a heart rate monitor ! 😄
Interestingly, I've never read or been told to check my pulse for an irregular rhythm. Maybe it's something promoted where you live but I don't recollect it being promoted here in Australia.
Do the tracings look constant, Annie? Perhaps you could post one?
Afib can be happening in the atrium whatever is happening in the ventricles. The key to what is happening in the downstairs' chambers is the AV node through which all atrial signals must pass. In AF, the regular signals from the SA node can no longer pass to the AV node; instead, the fibrillating atrial cells send a chaotic barrage of their own signals. Luckily, the AV is able to stop almost all of these and thus continues beating in a reasonably healthy manner, to allow the heartbeat to continue.
The Kardia looks for two things, I believe (perhaps more), to determine AF. The first is the presence of an SA node signal (i.e. the P waves. These are missing in AF, but can be hard to see. The second is the regularity or otherwise of the ventricular rhythm (i.e. as shown by the big spikes, or R waves).
If you have a Kardia 6L and use it in its six-lead view, then Lead II often shows the P waves far more prominently than Lead I.
Steve
Thank you Steve, that’s very well explained. Certainly the R waves were not exactly regular, but I could determine a few P waves, but not on every beat. I only have the ‘old’ style Kardia, and even that one I find more accurate ( consistent with Kardia’s ‘real’ person determination ) when I use it on my knee. I get the proper spikes with heartbeats instead of just little bumps above the line ! I am just pondering that so much emphasis is put on people - especially without Afib - to check their pulse to ‘check for irregularities’ when in fact people could so easily be misled by what they feel is a normal, steady beat. I shouldn’t check my Kardia every day really, as is the advice on this forum, but the relief of getting an NSR result after a lot of arrhythmia ones is uplifting !
Annie.
On Thurs I had a colonoscopy . When I was waiting on the table for my gastroenterologist to appear I could hear a steady beeping and realised it was the heart monitor . I took my pulse ( I usually take it just above the tragus of the ear) and it corresponded with the machine beeps. I hardly ever use my Kardia. I know the minute I go into afib if I am awake . If I am asleep it wakes me up. I get a feeling of constriction in my throat and upper chest. If I use the Kardia I get more anxious about the higher heart rate and I feel worse!
I get similar symptoms, along with a slight wobbling in the throat. I do like to use a Kardia or ECG device.
I hope your colonoscopy wasn't as uncomfortable as my last one and that all is well!
Steve
I don't know whether it is standard as I've only had my 4 colonoscopies at a private clinic but you get a GA. Out like light with Propofol. I suspect most French people would be horrified at the prospect of being awake during one. I had no problems . The nurses kept asking me if I had any gas or stomach pain afterwards and seemed amazed when I said I was fine. I'm sure they put it down to Brit stoicism! All was well and the really good news was that I don't have to have another surveillance one in 5 years time. I was going to refuse it anyway as the low fibre diet for 4 days is a drag and the prep is horrible and colonoscopies are not without risk especially for old people . I was reading some research from America that showed that routine colonoscopies for people with no symptoms were more likely to do harm than good.
I hadn't had one for several years so was pleased to be offered it. Propfol can cause AF, as a side effect, by the way. I wonder whether, in the UK, doctors are less likely to give a GA owing to the risks it entails, however small?
Steve
I did not know that. When I have had it before for GA 's for ops and colonoscopies I have always had an episode of afib but a week to 10 days afterwards. Yesterday when I came back from the clinic I went out gardening so probably it was overdoing that provoked the afib.
Used on the knee, you will be recording a Lead II ECG from the older Kardia, too. These different ECG "leads" means no more that the way the electrical signals are picked up by the ECG device from the position of the two electrodes on the body: finger to finger gives "Lead I", finger to leg or ankle gives Lead II, and so on. If the R waves are irregular, that can be AF, but is also, more commonly, the result of other atrial ectopic activity (much the same, really, if the ectopic beats are frequent enough - and all home ECG machines can be tricked). In AF you can also sometimes see lots of what look like P waves, but they aren't.
If you use an Apple iPhone, I would recommend the Apple Watch for its excellent ECG app and, being on the wrist, it's ever ready to be used for the more felting events.
Steve
Thanks Steve. You have given me confidence to continue using the ‘knee’ method. My GP actually told me it seemed to him it was likely to give a slightly more accurate reading than just fingers, but it seems a lot of people don’t use it or even know they can do that. It’s just not quite as easy if wearing trousers ! It’s also interesting what you say about the P waves and R waves.
Annie.
I end up with a very creased trouser leg as I find using my ankle hard work!
Steve
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