Hr Monitor Faulty? Can I Trust It?

[E246]

My HR monitor has been showing spikes 185-230 usually when moving but it never lasted long and there was no other symptoms. A hospital monitor worn at the same time did not confirm these spikes. The one narrow complex tachy i had was shown on my monitor as a slow hr. Can the hospital ones be wrong - it was an event recorder with 2 stickers.

This is the third monitor i have had = it is a Polar FTI and it has only happened since i got this. I have had 3 of these in a year -anyone recommend something better.

[corina]

emma, is it a wrist one? my doc told me to not spend any money on those as they tend to not be accurate. he advized me to buy an omron which i did. my omron has an arm cuff and reads both pulse and bp. usually the hospital monitors aren't wrong, though of course they can break down, as can every other monitor.

[E246]

Its got a body belt with 2 sensors and a watch to read hr. It is regarded with real suspicion by doctors here so the last thing i wanted was to confirm their suspicions.

[corina]

oh of course i see, sorry i misunderstood! you could ask your doctors which one they use or (if you don't want to ask them) you could ask your local pt and ask which brand they work with.

hope this helps!

[Brye]

I have the watch with the chest strap to transmit the HR. Mine is very accurate but occasionally there has been interferance especially when I'm in the car or on the computer. My HR will spike usually from 185-250. I've checked my pulse once or twice when this has happened and it was wrong. When my HR would get that high I remember the awful feeling I had with it so I know it's just some interferance.

Brye

[bunny]

Make sure the electrodes stay moisturized, otherwise you will get some very strange readings. They make a special gels tor this such as: http://www.amazon.com/Buh-Bump-2-5-Ounce-Heart-Monitor-Electrode/dp/B000HZD2NU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327172152&sr=8-2

For people using these for exercise, this isn't normally an issue as their perspiration will take care of this.

Also, keep in mind that most consumer equipment (bp and hrm ) will have trouble with arrythmias. Even many clinical devices don't handle arrythmias well. Keep this in mind if you have one.

[Lemons2lemonade]

I bought a pulse oximeter online for around $25. For the most part, it.is quite accurate and it tells you your oxygen concentration. One other thing to consider is that worrying about your pulse all the time is going to put stress on you, possibly leading to more symptoms. I only use my pulse ox, when I get scared to convince me that everything is going to be ok. I used to use it all the time and it became kind of an obsession. But I noticed that once I broke away from it i wasn't constantly thinking about pots.

http://www.amazon.com/Finger-Pulse-Oximeter-MD300C13N-Pouche/dp/B004BJT9OE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1327174164&sr=8-4

[roxie]

I have a Polar FT4 and it's done that a few times and that usually means I need to re-wet or moisturize the strap.

[E246]

Brilliant - had not thought about lack of moisture and it usually happens when i twist so a loss of contact is quite likely.I found it reassuring when i had surges but have stopped wearing it so much now this has stopped.

Thanks for the help.