9 facts about atrial fibrillation and heart failure

@GLOJO1 

hi robj,

you refer to buying some suitable equipment to monitor - could you please tell what they are. Thank you 

shokhii

@shokhii 

Hi shokii,

Try an SP02 meter (checks your oxygen levels), blood pressure monitor and small ECG meter. All available from your local chemist or much cheaper on Amazon or eBay. My wife suffered silent heart attacks common in many women and why they are less likely to survive heart attacks. Men have indicators like pains etc. so do have more to go on on such events. These are indicators and do not replace professional help but allow you to assess if an event is taking place. I have started early stages of heart disease and over the years had events that NHS helpline got me rushing to A&E. Only to find I have pulled muscles in my chest. But we have avoided hospital stays and ambulance journeys with my wife allowing us to call the GP early rather than A&E in a emergency. These meters together understanding physical symptoms like swelling ankles, pains etc. have given us freedoms from the dreaded A&E and hospital stays. Information is widely available online to establish normal readings and if not so normal readings should be a concern. So much medical equipment is online these days much cheaper that local sources and in general quite reliable. Stay safe and good luck!

 

Hi robjmckinney Thank you for your prompt and fulsome reply - this is not the first time I have felt that one can very often get proper advice and guidance from a fellow layman Group member than from a supposed professional, i.e. a GP or a cardiologist! I had a 24-hour Holter (ECG monitoring) in February which indicated Atrial Fibrillation (chaotic - irregularly irregular - rapid heartbeats), with the heart being in AFib 97.6% of the 24-hr period (this was intimated to me by the Echocardiogram technician when I subsequently went for one to the hospital rather than by my GP, nurse, or cardiologist who have all been oblivious of the fact!). I have since decided to take the matter in my own hands and monitor the salient biomarkers as far as I can in a timely manner so as to be cognizant of what might be going on in the organism at any time. To this end, I've bought a BP monitor which, in addition to BP readings, also gives the heart rate and flashes whether or not there is an Irregular Heart Beat at the time, which is good and useful. My SPO2 readings, whenever taken, have been 98-99%, so I'm not concerned with that. But I wanted to find and buy a good and reliable ECG monitor which I could use on myself at home to monitor my condition rather than trying to get another appointment for a Holter ECG which, in current times, might take several months or even a year even if approved. Hence my question to you which you have very kindly replied to. I have not been sure which ones would be useful or do the job from the ones available on Ebay and Amazon, since they seem to vary so much in functionality and price. Anyway, I'll keep looking. Once again, thank you very much. Appreciatively yours shokhii.

Addendum: If you get time robjmckinney, could you please tell me what your ECG monitor/meter is capable of doing,  e.g. what information for yourself and/or your wife it provides you; is it a snapshot type (a few seconds of heart activity)? and when you say they are quite reasonably priced, do you mean <£100 or c.£250, c.£1,000 as advertised. Sorry for so many questions but I'm confused and don't know who to turn to! Thank you. shokhii  

@shokhii 

Hi shokhii,

Well the one I use regularly cost less than a £100 gives a smile face or not, a brief description detection of Irregular Heartbeat, Premature Ventricular Contraction (PVC), Atrial Fibrillation (AF), Heart Pause, Tachycardia and Bradycardia etc. Plus a small screen visual presentation and can be connected to a computer. Place between the hands to take a reading or can have leads and sensors attached to the body but never used the leads. I have had it for more than five years and still going strong giving a basic indicator of heart health. We can then decide appropriate action needed and avoid hospital stays and A&E.

I have been considering different devices online and quite like those that connect to the mobile phone. I have also considered an ECG device that runs through a PC more like the ones found in GPs surgeries. But I feel this maybe one step to far as you need a good idea of what the readings mean. The home versions have important diagnoses programs that are simple to understand. 

Multi-functional devices I have found a little unreliable generally and now rely on specific devices specialised for the required monitoring. I have bought many types over the years some good, some just poor quality. I am as I said looking as mobile connected devices through an app which make it easy to send to my GP. Clearly the future is going to be the future for the NHS, my wife has been part of the Telehealth scheme through the NHS with equipment connected by phone to the experts, they were not the greatest and made mistakes. I myself am going to have a heart monitor fitted for a week next month then returned to the heart specialist. 

But for more than five years now since the three heart attacks my wife suffered we have closely monitored her conditions and avoided further events. She has many other illnesses Asthma, COPD, Lupus, Bechets, enlarged heart etc. 26 conditions at last count and specialists stated she would be dead years ago. But I am a firm believer in actively monitoring her conditions has extended her life expectancy. Twice now I have been in ICU with Doctors asking permission to switch off life support, I refused and she is still with me. Doctors have made many mistakes in her care and they need close monitoring as like you they get things wrong. But at the end of the day they are our only choice, where else can we go, stay safe!

Hi robjmckinney

Thank you very much again for most helpful information and advice. I'm now relieved and encouraged to buy an ECG monitor (PC-80B) for £95.99 from eBay. I presume this is the type you are referring to? The blurb says that it can be connected to the PC which is a feature that appeals to me (for the 10-hr continuous monitoring) since I've started learning to read ECGs myself to a basic level at least (can't rely totally on GP interpreting these correctly since they have not done so before). However, in the detailed description it says that I have to get in touch with the seller's customer service to get the installation package for the software which sounds a bit worrisome. But I've sent a query to them about it. Let's see! Before getting a reply from you I had been somewhat circumspect about the efficacy and reliability of such machines bought from the internet, but, as I said before, I think it is fine to take a chance and buy one now.

I agree with everything you say vis a vis the capability of some of the health professionals we come across and I particularly like your observation in the antepenultimate line, viz ".....they need close monitoring....". But, as you also say, they are all we have so we must be grateful for little or large mercies but remain vigilant ourselves rather than believe them blindly!

Wish you and your wife the best of health in years to come. Perhaps you will share with me your experience of having the heart monitor fitted for a week and how you would get the results of the same. Thank you again and take care of yourself and your wife - shokhii (Ashok)

 

 

 

@shokhii 

High shokhii, 

Yes the model you have chosen is the same model as mine but mine is about five years old and has been quite reliable. Just as a matter of interest my wife was feeling unwell and dizzy for a couple of days. Tested her blood pressure and found it constantly under a hundred and as low as 80. So a quick call to the GP and we agreed to reduce her Losartan for a week and see how we get on. In the past this would be major issue with A&E or urgent GP appointments, now a quick phone job. So bringing her back into balance, I thought we may have had to cancel our holiday. So self monitoring and getting the right info to the GP allows us to avoid those Ambulance and A&E calls for several years!

Hi RobI'm glad to find your wife is fine now and how home monitoring has allowed you to avoid unnecessary stress and hospital visits. About the ECG monitor, I think I mentioned to you that the seller was writing their customer services department needed to be got in touch after purchasing the item to get the installation software package which had sounded a bit odd to me (I mean why couldn't it be included with the item in the first place!) and that I had written to them to enquire about the same (i.e. how long after the purchase it would arrive and whether it would be posted from Singapore). Well, I've had no reply at all to date! There are a few other items of the same make on eBay which appear to have a CD included for installation onto PC and I will go for one of those - one odd thing is that although they are being sold/advertised by different individual sellers, they all have their item location as Glenfield! Anyway, I've now received an appointment letter for a 24-hr ECG at the hospital on 27th July. I rang them to ask if I could have it for 5 days if not 7 (as suggested by BHF) but they said no, I've got to return it first thing on 29th July. So, that will have to do really, you can't argue with them. Let's see what the monitoring establishes this time. All the best to you and your wife for now. shokhii (Ashok)

Hi Shokhil

My husband has AF and we bought a pocket size ECG monitor called Kardia. It monitors ECG Blood pressure and pulse. The ECG when you take it, tells you if you are in AF or possible sign of AF. You can save all your recordings of ECG pulse and BP and take them to your GP if you need to when you see the doctor. My husband also has a bed side heart monitor supplied by the hospital. It is attached to the hospital and they do the reading around mid night every night. If there are any concerns, they ring us up and ask us to place the monitor on your implanted heart monitor on your chest and do the reading and let you know if there are any issues. Kardia offer you a plan where by they can advise you if there are abnormalities and what to do by a cardiologist. But we didn't pay for the plan, as we can take the Kardia to our GP to show the monitoring and seek advice if needed. You can do a google search on Kardia to explore it if you wish. Its just a thought.

Hi shokhii,

Yes reducing the Losartan has done the trick with her low blood pressure issues and relying more on this device than the ECG. But her health issues continue on as you solve one issue another arrives , vigilance and knowing you partner well allows me to stay on top. Yes you normally do get software and no doubt it is part of the bits coming with the device. I would say the software is more likely to be an upgrade mainly to your PC software. I never bothered with the PC or providing its findings to my GP as they look at home based equipment as 'not up to NHS standard' so dismiss them. I do have a Telehealth equipment which is supplied by the NHS and as nineteen_gale indicates her equipment in NHS based. Each Health Authority will use their preferred supplier of such equipment and monitoring service. We did have some issues with Telehealth and support and passing information to her specialist a little 'hit and miss', glad to here nineteen_gale is happy with her support. As with much of the Far Eastern online most take time to arrive and others operate warehouse's in the UK. In general you are safeguarded by Amazon and eBay(paypal) so getting your money back if things go wrong. Stay safe! 

Hi robjmckinney and nineteen_gale

Thank you both for your helpful responses. I've finally ordered the PC-80B ECG monitor - due for delivery by 31 July (from the UK!!). Hope it works as well as it sounds. I have not been aware of the Telehealth facility and who is eligible for it. Sounds like such support works with implanted devices - is that correct? Best regards and good health!

shokhii