Kardia L1 Mobile accurate bpm?

[Purplekatt]

Hello all, very newly diagnosed so in the shock panic stage, Now on Bisoporol 3.75, and though not in permanent AF seems to be more hours than not, especially bothersome at night. When I manually take the pulse (still learning) I do not seem to go over 100, but the Kardia says 129 for example. GP told me to take off my fitbit as it would give a wrong reading when in AF, is it the same with Kardia?

I am anxious enough, without tech freaking me out.

Thanks for your input.

[BobD Volunteer]

As you have found out. all these gismos can really increase anxiety. Until you get used to this mongrel condition why not park them and go by how you feel.

Kardia counts the electrical impulses not the actual pulse so there will often be a difference. Wrist pulse is correct.

[baba]

Your Kardia will be more accurate.

[Buzby62]

The background checks on watches are done using optical sensors on the back, these can be reasonably accurate when in a normal rhythm but when things get irregular they are pretty much useless as your GP has said. Some watches have an ECG function which uses electrical sensors and you have to start manually by using a finger on the other hand to make an electrical circuit across your body. These electrical checks are more accurate when in AF and give you an average rate over 30 seconds usually. The Kardia is an ECG only device and only has electrical sensors so give an accurate trace and an average bpm for the duration of the test

Lots to learn as a newbie, here is a link to lots of information,

heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...

read as much as you can as knowledge is the key to managing the condition.

Best wishes

PS some of the rogue extra beats when in AF can be missed in the radial pulse (wrist) as they may be weaker pulses but the Kardia will pick them up electrically.

[Purplekatt in reply to Buzby62]

Thanks so much!

[opal11uk]

Mos watches, I have Fitbit state, they are not for those diagnosed with AF, they will nor alert or give a reading. I totally agree with Bob

[Ppiman]

You can ignore the readings since the pulse could well be jumping all over the place when you are in AF. Mine doesn't always vary such a great deal but can go from 85-185bpm, especially if I am walking, say. I tend to use the readings just for information and go on how I feel, resting if need be.

I would use the Kardia, as I use my equivalent and Apple Watch, more to let you know you are in AF than for the numbers. They really don't matter - only how well or not you feel.

Steve

[Purplekatt in reply to Ppiman]

Thanks! makes sense

[TracyAdmin Partner]

Welcome to the Forum, I am sure that many of the Members of the Forum will welcome you and offer you advice and based upon their own experiences. You will find a wealth of information on the AF Association website: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa... including many resources and videos. If you would like support from our Patient Services Team, please contact: heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...

Kind regards

TracyAdmin

[wischo]

Your Kardia is wrong, its a 30second trace so just count up the spikes on the kardia trace and multiply by two. This will give you your real BPMinute. The kardia only gives you what it sees as an average when in afib.

[Purplekatt in reply to wischo]

thanks I was wondering how my manual check of pulse could be so different

[momist]

Unfortunately there is a lot of mid understanding around smart watches, fitness monitors etc. Most of them use a little flashing light on the back and a light sensitive cell to detect the minute colour change when there is a pulse of blood pressure. Hence, it counts your pulse. However, when in AF the pulse comes at random times, and not in a regular rhythm. This means that sometimes the heart beats when it has not yet had chance to fill from the previous beat, and in that case it beats but does not produce a pulse. The Kardia however, measures the electrical activity of the heart and will record every beat, pulse or no pulse. The only time the Kardia will be inaccurate, is when you are not sitting still so it can detect the heart activity over the noise of your other muscles, or when there is electrical interference, maybe from a mobile phone or a microwave cooker etc.

[Purplekatt in reply to momist]

ah so that explains the difference vs manual, unless I am still in the settling period I might need stronger meds then as kardia records pulse at over 120 mostly.