Current Events > Anyone here have needed to wore a heart monitor ?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My watch keeps saying I am going into AFib and my doctor wants to know if my heart rate is just going fast or if I am really going it. And is like odd. They claim to watch it 24 hours a day. I don't know how that would work. But it is creepy if they really are.

Yeah. I was having infrequent bouts of tachycardia that got highlighted during a PT session where my heart rate spiked to 230 and stayed there for 20 minutes.

Doctor had me wear electrodes connected to a cell phone for a month. Three weeks in I had another bout while driving into work. They called that cell phone an hour later.

On the plus side, I did get it fixed because of that, and I didn't have to go into the SCIF for almost a month while I was being monitored.

But basically the phone just sends your readings to the doctor's office every hour or so and probably an alarm if something is wrong. Not entirely a big brother is watching you thing.

Raptornado posted...

On the plus side, I did get it fixed because of that, and I didn't have to go into the SCIF for almost a month while I was being monitored.

What is SCIF.

But basically the phone just sends your readings

Yeah it is on a phone . And they are like always keep your phone next to you.

Military stuff, basically a facility where electronic and recording devices are expressly prohibited. I was tied to the phone, so I couldn't go in. Doctor's orders.

But yeah, was a bit of a pain to keep going but getting a correctable problem corrected was well worth it. Hopefully if you do have some issues going on they're as easily fixed as mine were.

There are these new monitors that just stick to your sternum like a really big bandaid for 14 days. You gotta shave before they place what is like a doorbell looking thing on your sternum. The button is for when you feel your heart fluttering you push the button to highlight the event. Its also placed so you cant wear the shoulder strap of a seatbelt because it will press a little button repeatedly. the tiny doorbell thing has all the recording equipment inside it, so no wires. after the time is up you just mail in the unit and the results get sent to your doctor.

They just gave me by ECG readings from my Doctor's visit and is said abnormal, and they did not explain what any of the numbers meant. Why give me something without explaining it. Like this can just make me feel worse. I am sure that is what their goal was.

cjsdowg posted...

They just gave me by ECG readings from my Doctor's visit and is said abnormal, and they did not explain what any of the numbers meant. Why give me something without explaining it. Like this can just make me feel worse. I am sure that is what their goal was.

Contact them and ask.

If heart problems don't run in your family, you'll most likely be fine in theory.

I feel worse with these thing on. Like I can't explain it. But I feel like I need it now that I have it on, I didn't feel that way before .

cjsdowg posted...

I feel worse with these thing on. Like I can't explain it. But I feel like I need it now that I have it on, I didn't feel that way before .

Good luck getting this sorted out. You're definitely entitled to a better explanation than "abnormal", especially since there are many ways heart rhythm can be abnormal.

One thing to watch out for is unintended biofeedback -- e.g., if you think too much about what your heart is up to, that can affect heart rate etc. It's best to just think of the monitor as nothing more than a nuisance.

I hope you get better, buddy.

Think of the heart as the power supply to the entire human biological machine.

And when you really think about it, it's a miracle we live at all as these fragile huiman beings considering on any given day something can go just slightly wrong internally and it's life threatening.