Kardia

Which Kardia single lead or 6 lead to buy?

The Kardia with just two metal contacts is the single lead. The six lead has three metal contact areas, two on top and one on bottom.

Which one is recommended for purchase?

I like the 6 lead because all I have to do is wet the skin above my knee or ankle and my thumbs to get a clean reading. I don’t have to be close to my phone. My EP has all his patients on the Kardia program. Free monthly subscription and I get a blood pressure cup as well. Then I get an annoying text daily to take a reading. My EP checks all of his patients strips (he hired a girl just for the job to print out and put in each EP cubby). Then if I don’t know if I am in AF or flutter, I simply call the office and I know. At the end of each 30 day period, I can download a report. Dr. Natale and his NP looks at them as well.

You may want to call your EP to see if he is part of the program. The equipment is discounted. All I pay is less than 20% of my EP’s $60 monthly monitoring fee. Medicare covers it. I pay something like $10-14 a month. He is not making any money off of me :-). I give him two readings a day usually in the evenings when my PVCs freak show starts. It’s basically peace of mind and to document my pvc progress.

I understand Susan's points, but honestly I think the 6-lead version is unnecessary for most people. The original Kardia will do what you need it to do. I wouldn't spend the extra money on the 6-lead unless I was already a complicated case, and I don't think you are.

Carey is right price wise between the regular and 6 lead for AF. However if one is lucky to have their cardiologist enrolled in the Kardia program, the cost of the 6 lead is so discounted that it doesn’t matter the cost difference between the two. Also after seeing the 6 lead— cardiologists can determine which ventricle is firing the PVCs...so it’s not for everyone to have the 6 lead. But you never know if one day you may need a 6 lead. It wasn’t the 6 lead that sold me...it was convenience. With the 6 lead my phone doesn’t have to be close to the Kardia. Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the regular one require the phone and Kardia to be close to each other (Sound?) and you need to rest your hand on a table? I lack patience when my heart is beating violently. Plus I am not always near a table. A knee or crossed ankle is quicker and more relaxing.

For me I believe in checking out differences in models before any purchase. An example is my iPhone. I had a choice of memory. In the past I would save money and get the smallest/cheapest memory-and then waste my time deleting photos when my memory reached the limit. Of course you can buy Apple cloud storage but the monthly cost adds up. This time I got the biggest 512(?)gb for convenience sake. Now I don’t waste my time deleting.

Same principle with The Kardia 6L -it is very easy and convenient to use. This is not my first monitor. I am a beta tester for two other AF monitors and know convenience is worth considering when deciding on a ecg monitor. Actually the most convenient is my iWatch. I just push a button on my watch and it’s instant. If I’m driving I can pull over and take a reading without my hand leaving the steering wheel. It’s pretty instant. With the kardia one has to unlock the phone and boot the app, find the ecg icon and click it. It takes time getting your Kardia out of your bag and take a reading. Tonight I had 8-10 very fast rapid beats. The Kardia was next to me and I missed out taking a reading before my heart calmed down. IWatch I could capture it. So the 6L not perfect either.

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Carey
I understand Susan's points, but honestly I think the 6-lead version is unnecessary for most people. The original Kardia will do what you need it to do. I wouldn't spend the extra money on the 6-lead unless I was already a complicated case, and I don't think you are.

Yes, but the one key difference between the original Kardia and the 6L is that the latter uses Bluetooth (radio) instead of the microphone (ultrasonic) to communicate with the mobile device. Both methods work, but the original Kardia absolutely requires utter silence for a decent reading.

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wolfpack
Yes, but the one key difference between the original Kardia and the 6L is that the latter uses Bluetooth (radio) instead of the microphone (ultrasonic) to communicate with the mobile device. Both methods work, but the original Kardia absolutely requires utter silence for a decent reading.

Okay, that's a good point.

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wolfpack

Yes, but the one key difference between the original Kardia and the 6L is that the latter uses Bluetooth (radio) instead of the microphone (ultrasonic) to communicate with the mobile device. Both methods work, but the original Kardia absolutely requires utter silence for a decent reading.

That is the only reason I picked the 6L. I don’t need a table or my phone nearby and I can take a reading with the tv or music on. It’s an investment purchase and the convenience is worth something IMHO

I just unpacked and used my new Kardia 6L about 45 minutes. Set up went without a hitch and strips came out looking fine on my iPhone and on the email I sent to myself. Not sure if encrypting the email is necessary ??? So, from a very new user of Kardia I would give it a thumbs up. Is there a site that shows normal/abnormal ekg’s from the Kardia 6L.

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walt
Is there a site that shows normal/abnormal ekg’s from the Kardia 6L.

I have the single lead, for a novice, I'd suggest looking at the Lead I or II output. There are are plenty of sites with Lead I & II examples. This cardio has quite a few posts on Kardia.

Discerning normal vs abnormal ekg tracings is not easy, when trying to read more than the basics: NSR, ectopics, tachy or bradycardia, afib.
One may already struggle discerning AFlutter from sinus tach, afib from runs of ectopics...
Lead II is the most obvious for us afibbers.

I had the same question last year, and for the extra $50, in the end, went with the 6L. I figured it was better in the long run. There have been a couple of occasions when I have used the 6L and was glad I had it, but I mostly keep it simple with the single lead.