Kardia

Jun 4, 2023

Smart health devices have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, with the KardiaMobile 6L ECG providing instant results for our tech writer Andy Donohoe. Measuring calorie burn, steps, sleep and even heartrate monitoring are features that we've come to expect from the top-tier makers like Apple, Garmin and Huawei. However, there are an increasing number of tech devices for those who want to measure and monitor other health-related data. Some blood pressure monitors can be worn on the wrist and monitored 24 hours a day, and even simple cholesterol tests can be done at home, with results available in a digital form on your smartphone. AliveCor is one of the leading companies in this sector, and its KardiaMobile devices are revolutionary. There are two models, a six-lead version and a single-lead version, with the single-lead model costing around €114. The KardiaMobile 6L is the only clinically validated, CE marked and FDA-cleared ECG device I have come across. With KardiaMobile 6L, you can record unlimited six-lead EKGs, giving you more detailed insights on your heart from home and it detects up to six of the most common arrhythmias. Business Bulletin It's important to note that KardiaMobile 6L is not tested or recommended for use with pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and it does not check for heart attack. Set-up is straightforward and it's a small device at just 9.0cm x 3.0cm and 0.72cm thick. It weighs just 24 grams, and while being so small makes it discreet, I found myself mislaying it a couple of times. I opted to buy a small case for it online for a few euro, just to add some weight and make it a little bigger. It's powered by a tiny 3V CR2016 coin battery, and that's fitted and ready to go when it arrives. That provides for 200 hours of operational time and should last you at least 12 months with average use. It is a Bluetooth low-energy device (that's how it connects to your smartphone) and it has a range of around 1m. I downloaded the Kardia app, which is available for iOS and Android. There's a simple pairing process that only takes a minute where you select the model type and then the phone searches for it and adds it to your profile. The app is really simply laid out and when you open it (after pairing), there is a big button that prompts you to record your ECG. At this point you can choose the single-lead or six-lead ECG. If you choose the single option, you touch the top two electrodes on either side of the device. This is done by placing fingers from your right hand on the right electrode, and fingers from your left hand on the left-hand electrode with just a little light pressure. Almost instantly, you'll see the monitoring screen come to life as the Kardia starts to record your heart data. Your heartrate in beats per minute will be displayed and also the duration of the recording left, which is only 30 seconds in total. When the recording is complete, the EKG recording is displayed on screen. A medical professional would be able to interpret the lines and graphs, but for the rest of us there is a simple notification required features system on whether the recorded EKG is normal or not. There are also explanatory notes provided, so clicking on an info button will explain 'normal sinus rhythm'. Of course, the Kardia displays a notice saying that these are potential findings and not diagnoses. You then have the option to save notes and tags, which is really useful. Tags for instance, lets you add words like anxiety, ablation or alcohol to the test. Then you can add a contextual note, which might just say how you felt, and what you were doing just before you took the reading. Kardiamobile These notes and tags are saved to the individual EKG, and your various readings stay in the app in a Health Diary. You can augment each reading with blood pressure data, and you can enter that manually or connect to a compatible AliveCor BPM reader if you have one. You also have the option to save the individual ECG to a PDF, and there is an option to create a password as you do that. That could then be sent to your GP or other professional for review, perhaps before you pop in for an appointment. There are some additional features available if you subscribe to the premium plan from AliveCor, which costs around €100 a year. This service enables extra features and entitles you to four clinician reviews a year, but you can choose the option for a single review within the app. A free trial of the premium service would be nice when buying the device, though. Also, because the Kardia is so light and small (though it's not at all flimsy), I would like to see it sold with a case to help keep it safe. Overall though, this is a remarkable advance in home-based self-monitoring. Whether you have a specific reason to monitor your ECG, or you just like knowing more about your wellbeing, this is likely to be the future of healthcare.