Buying a real EKG Machine.

Any thoughts on this? Occasionally used ones come up for sale. I assume the little portable devices are not definitive, if they are even accurate.

I've owned one for several years. Bought it on ebay. My local EP marveled at the fact that I could bring him 12-lead EKGs and it did, indeed, prove valuable on numerous occasions. When I first met with him I brought him an inch-thick stack of EKGs and to my surprise he went through every single one of them and made notes. Where it comes in handy is with rhythms that aren't obvious. For example, identifying flutter is almost impossible without a 12-lead since you need more than the single lead things like Kardia, Apple Watch, etc. provide.

That said, it did cost $800, which is a lot if you're just looking for one out of curiosity. And watch out if you find one that seems cheap. If it doesn't come with cables and the acquisition unit, those are pretty expensive ($400-ish).

[ooAAOSw7MNcUMOJ" rel="nofollow">www.ebay.com]

I found this one on EBay for about $160. Not sure what kind to get, but it looks like it has the Cables with it.

[www.integrisequipment.com]

This one that hooks up to a Laptop is what my Cardiologist Office now use, but it is expensive, like $3500.

I would comment that I recently purchased an Apple Watch with the EKG feature in mind, though I was aware of its limitations. I did have a bout of Afib last week. The EKG couldn't be analyzed by the watch because of a heart rate out of limits. More than 120 I believe. I could see it being useful for someone who is asymptomatic with a slower pulse, but that isn't the case for me. What has proved somewhat useful so far is the ability of the sleep app with the watch to monitor sleep quality and overlay pulse on the sleep analysis graphic. The ones I'm using now are Pillow, and Cardio which samples heart rate continuously. Resolution of the graphic is a bit low, though The sound recording feature has been useful. It feels like you're running your own at-home sleep lab. Drifting off topic a bit here.... A real EKG machine could sure help me. I've worn monitors countless times, but they have not caught anything of significance, just by chance I think.

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GaryPNW
The EKG couldn't be analyzed by the watch because of a heart rate out of limits. More than 120 I believe.

I was astonished that the Apple Watch has that limitation. It renders the feature nearly useless. The Kardia has no problem with heart rates over 200.

Is this one any good?
[www.ebay.com.au]

Joe,

The key is the software. It isn't that hard to record the ECG.

10-12 years ago, a few guys here bought their own Holter monitors. They were in the $3-5,000 US range. I borrowed one for a bit.

Contec seems to be a Chinese company that makes many of these devices. If I were to buy one, I'd try to find a copy of the software manual to review.

I'm not recommending this, just showing it as an example: <[docplayer.net]

George

Thanks, George!
As always, one gets what one pays for.

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Joe
Is this one any good?
[www.ebay.com.au]

Honestly, I wouldn't spend money on a 3-lead. It's not going to tell you a whole lot more than a single-lead device like the Kardia.

As for the Welch Allyn CP-100 Anti-Fib asked about, I can't quite figure out what it actually provides from watching a youtube video about it. They show it printing an ECG with four lines of recordings when there should be six and the video is so bad that I can't read the labels on the strips. I would go find the product specs before buying it.