Heart, blood pressure & sleep monitor

monitoring

by Tracey_E - 2024-09-04 10:55:56

I have an Omron bp machine, they have a lot of options but the arm cuff are the most accurate.

I have a pulse oximeter because it's the most accurate way to check pulse without counting. Fitbits and other sports monitors are hit or miss for us.

For day to day and working out I have an Apple watch which is surprisingly accurate during workouts but I don't think it is any good for sleep. I killed 3 fitbits and didn't replace the last one. 

It's ok to check when you don't feel right, but try not to get in the habit of checking all the time because the small, and perfectly normal, variations will make you crazy. 

Monitors

by piglet22 - 2024-09-04 11:05:09

If I could choose only one device, it would be a BP monitor.

It's a Jack of all trades and good with arrhythmias. Personally, I like Omron too, upper arm type and with a downloadable memory. An old model is Omron M10-IT.

An oximeter is quick and easy as well as being portable, but no memory.

Can't speak for watches etc.

What Tracey Said

by IrishToast - 2024-09-04 11:12:57

I agree with Tracey. They can be a helpful indicator. I got a Garmin watch that I only paid attention to steps. 3 months later I  nearly, or momentarily did, pass out while driving. Garmin records showed frequent low heart rate all along. Then for the 3 months before pacemaker it was helpful to monitor low rates, along with a pulse oximeter and Omron BP cuff.  Also during healing from PM, same reason for wild heart rate variations and sleep problems. After 6 months now and settled in, the Garmin is an indicator if I am overdoing activities and my heart rate is getting up there.  My medical people agree they can be helpful, but not necessary. I am glad I have it.

Monitors

by Penguin - 2024-09-04 13:48:10

Pre-pacemaker I bought a BP monitor. It may be the same make / model as Tracey-E and Piglet - haven't checked, but it's still going years and years later with only a couple of battery changes. I hardly use it but I find it the most useful tool for BP and h/rate monitoring and use it post exercise to see how long my h/rate takes to return to base line very occasionally.   I did use it for BP and h/rate monitoring a lot when I was first diagnosed and without a PM, but I hardly use it these days. I use it on those 'off' days when you know that something isn't right, but otherwise I try to ignore h/rate and BP.

I've used a chest strap h/rate monitor during exercise maybe 3 times. I find it offputting to know what's happening to my heart, but useful occasionally if I need to feedback very general info to a doctor. I don't think the information is super reliable, but IMO a chest strap is better than a wrist watch - but uncomfortable.

It's beyond me to use any device at night. I'm not alert enough. 

Monitors

by piglet22 - 2024-09-05 05:43:46

BP monitoring is something I do every day and have done for decades.

This is because of early/youngish diagnosis of hypertension

 Not something unexpected as both parents suffered from it.

I work with data a lot so measuring, recording and condensing it is part of it.

It came in useful when I first thought that something wasn't right with my rhythm. I was having a hard time getting the GP to take it seriously and when I eventually got to be seen, the consultant wrote to the GP that "he was armed with papers". You can't ignore a set of statistics and a decent chart.

Regular self monitoring gives you a feeling for how things affect your conditions. Stress and BP. Forgetting your medication. When the BP monitor pumps up to 200 mm, it's going to be one or the other.

Same in 2023 when the ectopics started. The BP monitor was invaluable.

I'm used to seeing a straight line heart rate of 70 BPM (base PM setting).

Dips down to 50 or less spell trouble.

If you have a pacemaker, you already have heart trouble and it's a personal opinion that you need to pay attention to what's going on, preferably regularly.

Monitors

by PaceCahr - 2024-09-07 00:23:50

I'm with Piglet22 all the way.  My day job involves a lot of troubleshooting, and in order to look into a "problem" you need to know what "normal" looks like. I have three BPs machines so one is typically handy and easy to get to without getting up and changing things. 

I also have two pulseOX units, the second one I specifically bought for the waveform line version of the pulse, after I started having terrible PVC episodes. The cheap one wasn't readfing them. 

Pre-Device I would generally take my BP every morning about the same time, same conditions. I also would take it when I felt a heart rate pick-up, or a mild dizzy, or anything that made me Notice how I felt. I typically use an Omron wrist machine, which tells me that I have it at the correct level relative to my heart. I wasn't concerned about true accuracy, but comparing day to day and to correllate to symptoms and sensations. Just knowing what "normal" looked like helped when I wasn't feeling normal, but the readings were looking normal.  Just went to the basement and then up to the attic and back?  See what that looks like. What is a normal "I just did bunch of stuff" reading. 

Post-implant, I'm on medications that re-arranged my normals, so I'm generally checking it any time I feel weird sensations coming from my torso. Just to re-chart what normal is.  

I can tell when I have a really good day, because my food/health log is empty for the day, meaning I never thought about BP/o2 at all. I've been logging everything (EVERYTHING) I eat and how I feel for years now after food sensitivites triggered extreme joint swelling and pain, that resembled RA. The BP is just a small portion of that logging. My employer had us log our temperatures every day during COVID so that was another habit I got into  that hasn't stopped with. Post surgery, the habit came in handy. 

You are entering a whole new phase of taking care of yourself. 

Omron and microlife are good brands of BP machines. 

I would look for a pulse-oximeter that is like the ones a doctor's office would use. The software in the el cheap drug-store branded ones really have a hard time figuring out what to do with anything irregular. 

HTH