reliable heart rate monitor?

I am desperately looking for an accurate heart rate monitor!!! I have been through 4 of them and none have been accurate! I have had 2 pacer monitors which seem to be the most reliable but not consistent and have to be returned to the manufacturer to have the battery changed. I also have a sportline and a timex. I want accurate real time readings. Why am I going through so many? Is it my AICD that is interfearing? Prior to a viral attack of miocarditis in 2000, I was teaching kick boxing and running marathons. I am so depressed over not being able to do another marathon but cant stop running. The only time I had a discharge from my AICD was when I was running (heart rate monitor was dead and I went running anyway). Any other crazy runners that have had good luck with a monitor?

14 Comments

dangerous to run without it

by Rebecca - 2011-10-17 10:10:37

I do run without one quite frequently as I cannot find a reliable one. The only time my ICD fired was when I couldn't resist it anymore and took my son in the jogging stroller. I thought "I can tell when my heart rate is getting high" but 100 yards from my finish line it went off twice! Tacycardia is like shrapnle to my heart. I feel so crippled by it and it makes me yoyo exercise. I hate to walk. Running gives me sanity. Did you actually try the Garmin brand?

no luck here

by Tracey_E - 2011-10-17 10:10:57

I haven't been able to find one so I've gotten used to working out without it and just go by how I feel. There are two problems that are typical. One, the monitor picks up the pm spikes as well as the beats so the count is too high. Or, the pm interferes with the monitor and it gets no reading. I went through every brand Sports Authority and REI sell with no luck. I found a high end running store with an associate that was very knowledgeable on vacation once and he let me try most of the ones in the store, still no luck. What he told me is there are actually very few technologies. Two of them make all the new models (Garmin and ??) and all the other brands buy their old technology.

What does your dr think about running without it? I'm paced, no icd, so my situation is different from yours. Sometimes I get too high but it just ends the workout, frustrating but not dangerous. I just slow down and take deep breaths when I get dizzy, the first sign my rate is too high.

Running with monitor

by ElectricFrank - 2011-10-18 02:10:03

Even without a pacemaker monitors are a bit iffy when doing vigorous exercise. Either type has its limitations.

The most common is the ECG type which can use anything from actual stick on electrodes to some sort of metal plate in contact with the skin. The problem is that there are several sources of artifacts that are at least as large as the heart signal. One is the muscles of the chest and arm. Muscles produce a signal called EMG which happens any time a muscle contracts. The other is created when the electrode moves slightly on the skin.

Then there is the blood pulse type of monitor which can use either the finger or an ear lobe to access blood pulses. The earlobe is probably the best since it isn't actively involved in exercise. Even with the ear lobe though there is a variation in blood perfusion that varies with impact or severe muscle tightening. I've noticed an effect with this type monitor where it starts basing its HR on the rate at which my feet are hitting the ground.

We aren't the only ones with these problems. NASA had a heck of a time getting reliable HR with the Apollo astronauts when they were walking around the moon.

So thats the word from the instrumentation department.

frank

Garmin

by Tracey_E - 2011-10-18 07:10:15

I tried it in the store, several models actually, was not able to get a reading on any of them. Most stores don't like you trying them in the store but I grab a manager and tell them my situation and they've always been willing to open the packages and let me try them. Don't let my lack of luck stop you from trying it, however! We're all different and Garmin may work for you.

After dragging my feet for several years because I hate meds, a mild dose of atenolol (beta blocker) was the answer for me. I no longer get the high spikes. My problem wasn't my heart going dangerously high, tho, it was going higher than the ventricle could pace which got the heart out of sync and would kill a workout quickly. My atria is normal (if occasionally too fast) but I'm fully paced ventricle. Now when I work out I get up to 150 or so and tend to stay there however hard I work so I go by how hard it is to speak and how much I'm sweating. If the clothes are dripping and I can't sing but can speak, then I assume I'm getting a good workout.

Did you ask your dr if the pm firing was triggered by running or if it's a coincidence you happened to be running?

ICD firing

by Rebecca - 2011-10-18 10:10:23

It was actually sinus tach. Nonetheless, it fired twice and burned my chest so Im not looking forward to it happening again. Ive done the whole cardiac rehab with the electrode telemetry but I work in the department and don't feel like having all my coworkers look on as I run on the treadmill. I have been on beta blockers and ace inhibitors since the miocarditis and they stabilized me enough to take me off the transplant list. I had a baby and my EF went into the toilet (20-25%). Honestly, it's a miracle I can run at all but I just cant resign myself to walking yet. I'd rather run 3 miles than fast walk a marathon. Walking makes me feel defeated. There has to be something out there that has worked for someone. Im willing to pay ridiculous money for a reliable piece of equipment. I'll post if I find anything.

Time to deal with emotions

by ElectricFrank - 2011-10-19 01:10:40

I can understand your feelings about being watched by coworkers, and also about running vs walking. The bottom line is that they don't make sense and it is time to deal with it. Don't resign yourself but rather accept it. Taking control is always better than giving up.

As someone who is 81 yrs and watching my abilities go south with age I can say that I would be much worse off if I didn't accept the changes. Just today I was looking at some old photo's of a 800 ft deep mine shaft I had climbed down as an 18 yr old. My thoughts..I wouldn't want to try that these days, but probably would give 300 ft a try.

I'm not being critical of you..just trying to make a point.

best,

frank

Here's what Garmin say!

by DJC32O - 2011-10-19 07:10:47

https://buy.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?caseId={cecafc20-804d-11de-da69-000000000000}

Not a great deal of help if you don't have St Jude"s PM.

I have a Medtronic PM I contacted Medtronic and got the response below!

Thank you for contacting Medtronic,

In response to your query Heart Rate monitors that use a chest band have a LOW risk of affecting pacemaker function.

Chest band transmits low level magnetic pulses to computer usually on wrist. Impulse sent when heart contracts and Pacemaker is in refractory. Heart rate monitors may provide inaccurate information or a blank monitor screen when the Pacemaker is delivering electrical stimuli to the heart. These stimuli may be misinterpreted as heart contractions or classified as noise by the heart rate monitor causing the readout to be in error. If no stimuli are being delivered from the Pacemaker of ICD then the heart rate monitor will function normally. (An alternative is a portable plethysmograph type monitor that uses a light source to monitor the heart rate through either the fingertip or the earlobe).

I hope this helps and wish you all the best,



Thanks DJC320

by Rebecca - 2011-10-19 09:10:09

I appreciate the info very much. My next step was to contact St Jude.

electric Frank

by Rebecca - 2011-10-19 09:10:25

Im 41! not 80 something and no I will not resign myself to walking and having my coworkers staring at my A**! I am a full time working mother who cares about staying fit so I can live to 80 to watch my grand kids grow up. I love to run and can still do so....3-6 miles a day. Im just looking for a safe way to do it. I have every right to be a little bummed by the card that was delt to me but I clearly have not let it stop me. If I want to groan over the challenges of technology that could make workouts safe vs dangerous than I think I am entitled. Your bottom line hit a bad cord on a bad day.

best
Rebecca

I agree

by ElectricFrank - 2011-10-20 01:10:07

I'm sorry I hit you on a bad day. Just consider this:

We can scream, cuss, and hate reality all we want. Sometimes it is helpful, but in the end reality doesn't care.

I may have given you the wrong idea about aging. As I said I'm 81. After having back surgery in the 1980's I decided that it wasn't the best for my body to engage in high impact exercise like running so I moved to walking, like hiking. I've never exercised to stay alive for my grand kids. I pursued physical activities because it feels good. Today I spent 7 hours in the desert driving challenging back roads and hiking all over mountain sides looking at old mine shafts. In fact I climbed down one. What I meant by having my abilities go south with aging is that I needed to make more stops on the climbs than I used to. And tomorrow I will likely be a lot more achy than when I was 70.

Enjoy, I hope today is a better day.

frank

st judes

by Tracey_E - 2011-10-20 07:10:37

that's what I have, but I haven't tried garmin again since my last replacement so maybe it will work now

note that article says they are tested and do not interfere with the pm. It does not say the pm doesn't interfere with the hrm, which is usually the problem. The hrm's are not going to hurt us, they just don't work.

I'm sorry Frank struck you the wrong way. He's been around here forever and has given me more laughs than I can count, and given countless newbies great advice and comfort. Please don't judge by one post, get to know him and you'll love him too. I hope I'm half as energetic and spunky when I get to 80. Hoping today is a better day!

p.s. I'm 45, first pm at 27, congenital problems so I get what you're saying about staying in shape so we live to be old and healthy. That's my goal too. I've got a heart full of wires and a wonky electrical system, I can't afford to have the muscle not as strong as it can be.

My Garmin Forerunner 210 is OK

by Kick - 2011-10-25 09:10:40

However, my pacemaker is set on the MVP (managed Ventricular pace) mode, so there is no charge being sent to the ventricle. The band that the monitor is on is placed around the sternum, thus the lower part of the heart. Anyway, the Garmin seems to work OK with no interference. If your pacemaker paces the ventricle then you may have an issue.

Garmin Edge 500

by DJC32O - 2011-11-20 06:11:12

I purchase a Garmin Edge 500 with a HRM premier belt with a view if the HRM did not work then I have a very good cycling computer for all other aspect of my cycling.

The HRM works just fine with no apparent interference from my pacer!

New to the HRM delimma

by pvelt66317 - 2012-01-18 03:01:40

Both HRMs quit working when I got a Pacemaker in Dec/2011. Haven't been able to run yet. Resting Heart rate was 40 before implant. They set it to 70 at rest. Even when briskly walking HMs don't work and I know HR is above 70 and the Pacemaker isn't working. Right? So Medtronics is wrong about the HM working when there is no stimuli from the Pacemaker to the heart. And besides that, I've had a-fib since the implant. So what kind of HRM so I buy?

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