KardiaMobile Card Wallet-Sized Personal EKG Device - Record Single-Lead EKGs On The Go and Detect Irregular Heartbeats - by AliveCor

I bought this KardiaMobile ECG device about 6 months ago after a hospital abdominal surgery triggered an AFIB occurrence.I use it every few days, and have not seen anything out of the ordinary with my results, UNTIL a friend was visiting and did her normal walk. She came back early and said she didn't feel well. I could tell her heart was racing. I pulled out my little KardiaMobile Card from my wallet, entered her as a "guest," and had her put her fingers on the card.The graph immediately went crazy and her pulse was showing 176bpm! After 30 seconds of ECG recording, it indicated she had symptoms of AFIB. I repeated it a few times with the same results. I immediately put her in the car and took her to the emergency room at the local hospital (Honor Health). They ran a large number of EKG and other tests, but by the time she was in the hospital, her pulse was normal and there was no occurrence of AFIB.I remembered the KardiaMobile Card, and realized I could print out the various ECG results that I ran as "guest" for her. I showed the hospital cardiologist the ECG test results, and he immediately said YES she definitely had an AFIB attack and her diagnosis took on a completely different turn. What the doctors weren't able to see before at the hospital - thanks to this device - they could see now and properly treat her.Some people seemed concerned of the battery life. While I've only had mine 6 months, it's still showing 100% battery life, and with only 30 second test bursts every few days, I'm confident there are still many more years of life in this little unit. I'm so impressed with this little device, and the cardiologist seemed to be too. If the card dies in a few years, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.A Subscription Service IS NOT REQUIRED!Some people are claiming a subscription service is required to use the device. That is false! While additional tests can be sent to cardiologists under their expanded service, you don't need to pay for ANY subscription to record basic EKG/ECG results to show your doctor. My card without any subscription service provided all the charts necessary for my cardiologist to evaluate my friend.

This is an amazing and simple product. Follow the instructions to load the app on a phone, and the app is very user friendly. Records a good simple ECG, sufficient to see the pulse pattern and detect anomalies. I used it specifically to observe AFIB and it reliably detected this artifact. Does not do bp, I use a separate cuff for that. As it records the plot, it also records pulse rate, which allowed me to manage a medication for tachycardia. Also generates reports which can be forwarded to med staff.

I’ve been using the KardiaMobile 6-lead for about 4 years and am very happy with its abilities. I just purchased the KardiaMobile card and have started using it when I don’t have access to the 6-lead. The setup was easy. Just follow the prompts in the app to get established. To turn on, just squeeze the on button between your thumb and index finger and feel the click. To keep the device on, you have to touch the two electrodes with your thumbs within 10 seconds, or it turns off. I would have liked a longer time for this disconnect, as I usually am trying to look at the screen on my iPad/iPhone and need an extra finger to select my options. Still, once you get used to it, this becomes less of an issue. Holding the card between your fingers can result in a great deal of artifact on the tracing, due to minor shaking/vibrations of your thumb. With concentration, you can lessen this movement, or just place the card on a flat surface and use your index fingers. The card only provides a single lead tracing, but in most cases that is all you need. Rarely, one of the other 5 leads on the 6-lead device might help clarify the rhythm, but most of the time in the emergency department or sitting in the back of an ambulance, a single lead is sufficient. Remember the old medical student axiom, “fast or slow, regular or irregular”. That is what this device will tell you. A fast rhythm can make you feel exactly the same as a slow rhythm or an irregular rhythm. To be honest, the main advantage of this device is to capture a rhythm when you are away from your physician’s office so you can take it and show it to her/him. I can’t tell you how many times a patient will describe some irregular feeling in their pulse, yet when I hook them up to my monitor, their rhythm is stone cold normal. It is a game changer to have a copy of that weird rhythm captured by this device. As others have noted, this device won’t tell you if you are having a heart attack - nothing will replace an EKG. It will tell you “fast or slow, regular or irregular”. It takes a fair bit of training to sort out the various rhythms your heart can produce. An irregular rhythm is not always atrial fibrillation. Extra beats - SVE (PVCs/PACs); atrial flutter; various types of heart block; etc…, can all look similar on a single lead rhythm strip. The best strategy is to take your reading and show it to your physician. Don’t get hung up on trying to integrate with other technology, parameters, or communication. Just keep it simple. You can also take advantage of the cardiology consult that this company offers, for a quick assessment. Some reviewers complain about the battery life of only around 2 years. At $50 a year to tell me if my meds are keeping my PVCs under control, that’s a bargain, just skip one restaurant bill a year. Remember, regardless of what you think your rhythm shows, or the device says, if you feel bad, that’s your body speaking to you. Call 911 or get someone to take you to an ER - NOW!