normal ekg reading but…

[september1990]

i feel like i’m having heart palpitations, but when i check on my alivecor kardia device it reads normal bpm. so why do i feel this way? anyone experience this?

[deniseinmilden]

The Kardiamobile is only set to detect and comment on a very small range of problems, most notably Atrial Fibrillation, tachycardia above 100 beats per minute and bradycardia, below 50 beats per minute.

If you want it to tell you about PVCs and PACs (ectopics), say, you can pay for an extra piece of software on your app.

One of the main palpitations that people can feel is these ectopics. Generally they are safe and most cardiologists dismiss them as normal.

You either have to learn to read your own traces or give them to someone who can read them for you (usually a cardiologist) to find out what your heart is doing when you feel it "bump".

In most cases if the machine says it is "normal sinus rhythm" it is nothing too immediately serious - unless you are having a heart-attack, which it warns it also doesn't detect!

[SeeminglyFit]

The wrist based monitors are good for pulse, but when you have fibrillation in one valve, the monitor will continue to detect a pulse within the normal range.I keep a stethoscope nearby, and use that to actually hear what’s going on. If it sounds like a five year old on a drum set, it’s fibrillation. Where the PVC’s are more like a pause followed by a few quick beats.

Having the information can be helpful when talking to your doctor, but can also be anxiety inducing when you’re concerned about it.

[Ginkgotree]

I was having the same with ectopics and my cardiologist suggested they might be vagus nerve related and not actually ectopics (although I have had loads of ectopics too). I have tachy brady syndrome. Anyone else been told this?

[Bennera513]

The advanced determinations for Kardia mentioned above is where I'd start. Is your Kardia enabled to report on ectopics or not? Then, when looking at your strip, can you identify ectopics? If all that is clear then maybe remember that 'Palpitations' as a term just refers to being able to feel your heart doing something. Could be normal, could be irregular. The heart is always adjusting to what the nervous system commands. It slows, it speeds up, it pounds,....all regular. But you can feel a singular beat that is more powerful than the rest and gets your attention....it sped up so stands out from the previous beats, or it pumps more blood more forcefully and that gets your attention. A healthy heart is one that can adjust quickly and make these fast and forceful corrections depending on needs or even what's going on psychologically. Perhaps nothing to worry about at all....trust the body. But if bothersome or symptomatic, worth exploring deeper to be sure. Hopefully it is nothing.

[TracyAdmin Partner ArrhythmiaAlliance]

Hi there, the kardia mobile is a great device that can detect (not diagnose) whether you are in normal sinus rhythm or alert you or any irregularities. May I recommend taking a manual pulse check? please visit our short video for instructions on how to do this accurately heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

You may also choose to download the 'Arrhythmia Checklist' to complete before contacting your doctor heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

[Hidden]

Leaving aside what any device is telling you, september1990, I think you just have to ask yourself a couple of questions. 'Is this worrying me'? And 'Do I need answers'? No home device is a foolproof method of detecting all arrhythmia, as others have pointed out. They are a useful tool to help point to a diagnosis for a small number of problems, but are no way a catch-all or an absolute diagnostic tool. If you are unhappy about what these thumps and bumps are, and are looking for answers, then pursue them with your healthcare provider, and forget the kardia for now.