KardiaMobile Card Pockets-Sized Private EKG Machine – File Single-Lead EKGs On The Go and Detect Irregular Heartbeats – by AliveCor

As a physician, I am pleased
I’ve been using the KardiaMobile 6-lead for about 4 years and am very happy with its abilities. I just purchased the KardiaMobile card and have started using it when I don’t have access to the 6-lead. The setup was easy. Just follow the prompts in the app to get established. To turn on, just squeeze the on button between your thumb and index finger and feel the click. To keep the device on, you have to touch the two electrodes with your thumbs within 10 seconds, or it turns off. I would have liked a longer time for this disconnect, as I usually am trying to look at the screen on my iPad/iPhone and need an extra finger to select my options. Still, once you get used to it, this becomes less of an issue. Holding the card between your fingers can result in a great deal of artifact on the tracing, due to minor shaking/vibrations of your thumb. With concentration, you can lessen this movement, or just place the card on a flat surface and use your index fingers. The card only provides a single lead tracing, but in most cases that is all you need. Rarely, one of the other 5 leads on the 6-lead device might help clarify the rhythm, but most of the time in the emergency department or sitting in the back of an ambulance, a single lead is sufficient. Remember the old medical student axiom, “fast or slow, regular or irregular”. That is what this device will tell you. A fast rhythm can make you feel exactly the same as a slow rhythm or an irregular rhythm. To be honest, the main advantage of this device is to capture a rhythm when you are away from your physician’s office so you can take it and show it to her/him. I can’t tell you how many times a patient will describe some irregular feeling in their pulse, yet when I hook them up to my monitor, their rhythm is stone cold normal. It is a game changer to have a copy of that weird rhythm captured by this device. As others have noted, this device won’t tell you if you are having a heart attack – nothing will replace an EKG. It will tell you “fast or slow, regular or irregular”. It takes a fair bit of training to sort out the various rhythms your heart can produce. An irregular rhythm is not always atrial fibrillation. Extra beats – SVE (PVCs/PACs); atrial flutter; various types of heart block; etc…, can all look similar on a single lead rhythm strip. The best strategy is to take your reading and show it to your physician. Don’t get hung up on trying to integrate with other technology, parameters, or communication. Just keep it simple. You can also take advantage of the cardiology consult that this company offers, for a quick assessment. Some reviewers complain about the battery life of only around 2 years. At $50 a year to tell me if my meds are keeping my PVCs under control, that’s a bargain, just skip one restaurant bill a year. Remember, regardless of what you think your rhythm shows, or the device says, if you feel bad, that’s your body speaking to you. Call 911 or get someone to take you to an ER – NOW!

A product and app geared to force consumer to join the KardiaCare subscription service
The reviews you read here about being forced to join the KardiaCare subscription plan are pretty accurate. No where in the sales pitch on the product page does it mention this requirement. Once you unbox and open the tiny folded manual, it states at the end that “this device only functions with KardiaCare”. I was thinking that I saw where KardiaCare had a free and a paid version. So I downloaded the app, thinking I would just select the free plan and be go to go. No. Once you start the app, the entire process is devoted to getting you to either sign up for the monthly subscription for $9.95 or the yearly at $99. There are no options to select the free plan. I kept clicking the X in the top right of each dialog that wanted my credit card. The app finally logged me out and I logged back in and after clicking another X to close yet another dialog, it allowed me to the screen to set up the device. I attempted to turn on the device and it would not turn on. I was about to box it up and take it to the post office to return when I placed the card on a hard surface and pressed as hard as I could and I felt the click under my finger and it turned on. While I was reading the screen, the device turned off after the 10 second no-activity kicked in. I turned it back on, and managed to follow the screen to a successful ekg for my wife. I would not recommend this product to anyone that isn’t willing to join an additional subscription. I honestly feel like I was the victim of a bate and switch scheme. I am very tech savvy and it was very difficult to wiggle my way to the free version of the app. I have attached a screenshot of the screen that appears directly after the ekg results were displayed. See how they are no options other than X. I’m sure I will be harassed by these dialogs which is why I will most likely return this device. Consumers shouldn’t be treated like this. What if this happened on every device we bought?

It’s there when we need it
My husband has a history of SVT. His cardiologist recommended Kardia. We looked at the different products available and eventually decided on the card. I like that the card is small and can fit in his wallet. My concern was that the device would be on the kitchen counter or somewhere in the house the next time my husband heart went out of rhythm. Since you can’t use it if you don’t remember where you left it this presented a problem. It is about the size of a credit card and easily fits in his wallet. I like that it is always with him. The set up was also easy and synced with his cell phone quickly. My only concern was the battery life. You cannot replace it, but the battery should last about 2 years. I figure that should be plenty of time to catch the irregular rhythm. The only other draw back was that if you don’t stay completely still you will get artifact. It’s not bad enough that it can’t be read and easy enough to fix by staying still. So far we are pleased with the purchase.

Very easy to use, so small it fits in my wallet. Saved records enable me to discuss with doctor. Excellent.

I purchased this device on the advice of my doctor. I installed the app on my phone as per the enclosed instructions only to find the device is not listed, and therefore cannot connect to the app. It appears that the device is no longer supported.