Category: Health Tech

Band-Aids are just the beginning

Even in normal times, when the COVID pandemic isn’t surging through the world, your list of medicine cabinets must-haves remains pretty much the same.

Bandages, gauze pads and hydrogen peroxide, which are available everywhere, are essentials for accidental cuts. But there are more must-haves you’ll need before you head for Urgent Care. I’ve skipped rapid COVID tests, as some may give false readings. The gold-standard is the uncomfortable nose swab test. Some clinics administer the saliva test, which these days takes about five days before you get a result.

A no-touch forehead thermometer is No. 1 for your entire family. There are dozens available on Amazon. After reading the reviews, I bought the $20 iHealth model. Like other no-touch thermometers, it will vary by about one-half degree on successive readings. I take three readings and average them. There are more expensive models, but the iHealth seems to work just fine.

An oximeter, which measures blood oxygen saturation, costs about $20 on Amazon. The device has a clothespin-like feature; slip it on a finger and it will give you an oxygen-saturated reading and your pulse rate. Your doctor can tell you what your readings should be. I bought the Santimedical model, which uses two AAA batteries (included) that seem to last forever.

Blood pressure monitors come with a caveat. No matter what model you choose, they need to be calibrated with a doctor’s office machine. Steer clear of wrist monitors. The best ones have a cuff that wraps around your bicep. I like the Omron models that range upwards of $50. Cheaper ones may not give an accurate reading, and even the Omron model I bought on Amazon was off by about 10 points when compared to a professional monitor. Still, if the home monitor seems high, it’s worth a visit to your doctor’s office.

Heart monitors can be helpful, too. The Kardia devices (which I review in full here) cost from $70 to $180 on Amazon or at www.kardia.com. The least-expensive models measure whether your have atrial fibrillation, a common but potentially serious heart condition, along with pulse rate. They’re easy to use, too. Rest your index fingers on two metal pads and get the reading on your smartphone.

Paying attention to temperature, heart function and blood pressure will ultimately help you decide whether to make that trip to Urgent Care or even the ER. The tools you use to make that decision are inexpensive and widely available, too.

Summary
Low-cost medical gear can save you a trip to the doctor.

Erratic or racing heartbeat can mean trouble. If they’re accompanied by chest pain, a trip to the ER is a wise decision.

The first thing you’ll get at the ER is an electrocardiogram, which will give the ER doctor an idea of the seriousness of your visit. But what if you could get the electrocardiogram at home and send it to your doctor or another cardiologist.  And what if you could carry the device around in your pocket?

The Kardia Mobile will do just that, and more. While the basic $79 model will measure only possible atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat and pulse), more sophisticated (and expensive) ones will do far more. The $150 6L model emulates a six-lead EKG, similar to the one you’d have in a doctor’s office. It also measures whether your heart is beating too fast or too slowly. For $10 a month you can get reviews by a cardiologist, among other benefits. For $150 you can get a credit card model that has the same limits as the $79 model.

The heart likes a steady rhythm. When it’s out of whack, you feel it in the form of palpitations, rapid heartbeat and, oftentimes, exhaustion. If you have sleep apnea (loud snoring and gasping for air at night) or you’re obese, your chances of developing a-fib are pretty good.

The  Kardia Mobile is about the size of a Band-Aid. On the top are two pads that record the EKG. Fingers from both hands are placed on the pads, and like a real EKG, the peaks and valleys of your heartbeats flash by on the screen of your smartphone. In 30 seconds, there’s a diagnosis: “normal,” “possible atrial fibrillation,” “unclassified” or “unreadable.” Therein is the flaw in the KardiaMobile.

While the “normal” reading is reassuring and the “possible atrial fibrillation” is cause for concern, the device will not tell you whether you’re having a heart attack. Unless you know how to read an EKG, you would have to upload the EKG to your doctor or to an EKG technician that Kardia hires ($9) or to one of Kardia’s contract cardiologists ($19). In the latter, a doctor will respond within an hour;  the cheaper fee  gets you a technician’s diagnosis in 24 hours, which is way too long if your heart is in distress.

Other factors can be troublesome. The Kardia Mobile won’t deliver an EKG if there is any kind of electrical interference such as a nearby computer and monitor. Moving 20 feet away, solves the problem.

I found out about the Kardia Mobile when my cardiologist’s EKG machine was tied up. For good measure, though, he asked me to wait and get a proper EKG, which, as the Kardia device concluded, was normal.

The device does its work in 30 seconds and works on iPhones, Android phones and tablets. The company also offers a $10 monthly “premium” plan that allows users to store their EKGs, get monthly reports that can be e-mailed to yourself or to your doctor and provide reminders to take medications. In the basic plan, which is free, users can e-mail only one EKG at a time to their doctor or to themselves. If you do the latter, there’s nothing to stop you from printing out yourf EKG and hanging it on the refrigerator for all to admire. In the basic plan, prior tests can’t be saved for comparison. (For other medicine cabinet essentials, click here.)

If you have a history of a-fib, and you want the assurance that it’s being controlled by medication or other treatments, the Kardia Mobile will provide an inexpensive and convenient EKG. But it does not take the place of a proper EKG or other heart study. In fact, in the space of 30 minutes, under exactly the same conditions, I had two “unclassified” readings, two were “normal” and one showed “possible atrial fibrillation.” That’s not exactly reassuring.

Summary
If you need a quick and basic EKG, the $80 Kardia Mobile is limited reading normal heartbeats and afib. A more expensive model will diagnose more heart functions.

The devices are sold on Amazon and at www.kardiamobile.com.