I found two GREAT (cheap Chinese) monitors -- and one dud!

[normofthenorth]

Before I went in for my surgery, I ordered a dirt-cheap little heart-monitor watch from an eBay vendor in Hong Kong. Like the one at i.ebayimg.com/07/!B-OR)Kg!mk~$(KGrHqF,!k0Ey+jC0-3,BM8FJVl6RQ~~0_3.JPG , or the current eBay listing item #170570520224 . US$2.99 POSTPAID(!), for a pretty spiffy-looking watch, plus a "sensor" button at the top right that's supposed to read your pulse off a finger or a thumb.

First problem was that it took a LONG time to arrive, partly (according to the vendor and HK Post) because of the snow and ice in the airports in Europe. Second problem is that it seems to be a fine watch for an incredible price, but it doesn't read my pulse. If I press hard, it will register a pulse every time I press a little HARDER (and it will calculate a pulse-rate from that), but that's not very useful.

OTOH, I bought two other cheap Chinese monitors that seem to work great and are remarkably impressive:

1) A "WrisTech" blood-pressure-and-HR monitor that I bought in a local "junk store" (www.factorydirect.ca/catalog/product_spec.php?pcode=BL5237) for Cdn$19.99. It takes two AAA batteries, has 3 buttons, a Velcro blood-pressure-cuff and a good-sized LCD screen. Hit the button once and it wakes up, and shows "00" in a few seconds. Clip the cuff-clip around your wrist (not upper arm), with the screen on your palm-up side, wrap the Velcro reasonably snugly, hold your wrist near your heart and hit the button again.

The cuff inflates just like the bigger ones in the hospital. As it starts deflating, you can hear the beeping corresponding to your individual heartbeats. After a few seconds (~10-12 average?), it deflates and displays the two blood-pressure numbers and the average pulse rate. My numbers have been fairly variable, but I think that's mostly me, not the gizmo. When I do a repeat within a few minutes, it's usually pretty close to the previous reading. I've probably used it 40 or 50 times, and it's read "Error" twice, then works fine when I re-do it. I'm sure it's not QUITE as accurate as the much more expensive units, but I'm quite impressed with how well it works for $20 -- AND they just marked it down to $17 , at least temporarily, in the holiday fliers!! It has no extra fancy features, except a clock and the ability to remember the last several dozen readings.

2) A "BIOS" heart-rate monitor, also from China by way of Factory Direct, www.factorydirect.ca/catalog/product_spec.php?pcode=BI0100 and also Cdn$20. In the box is a spiffy-looking watch/monitor/receiver, a chest-strap plus sensor-transmitter, and a bonus pedometer-pen. The pedometer-pen is kind of silly, and the world's most basic pedometer, which only counts steps, nothing else.

But the heart-rate monitor, while also pretty basic, works extremely well. The sensor part has two ~3"-long plastic pads that pick up your heart's electrical signals, like two of the (12) "stickers" on an EKG or Holter gizmo. They work best if you moisten them before plastering them to your bare skin, right near your heart. When you hit the "Mode" button on the watch, it starts in clock-calendar mode, then it shows all of that plus your current pulse rate (and each individual pulse, with a flashing "heart" symbol). The next click shows the same but with MAX heart-rate displayed, and the next shows AVG heart-rate instead. A quick push on the "SET" button resets the MAX or AVG number.

Fancier (more $$$) monitors let you set alarm levels, or calculate your calories burned, etc., etc., none of which this one does. But it does what it does pretty well. The watch has an alarm and a stopwatch, and the stopwatch screen also displays your heart-rate. The readings occasionally go crazy (like 200+!!), mostly when I'm sitting idle at the computer. Either moving the sensor a bit or getting up and walking around seems to cure it. But when I've used it to monitor my heart-rate while I'm walking or climbing stairs, etc., it always seems to behave.

I assume it "eats" CR2032 batteries, one in the watch and one in the chest sensor. Both of them were weak when I bought it, and I replaced both of them. The sensor is designed for quick-and-easy battery replacement, while the watch is a fiddly job. For somebody who can live with those shortcomings, I think it's a huge bargoon and an important addition to my cardiac rehab (since I'm really erratic at finding my pulse, even in my neck!!).

BTW, the current Consumer Reports rates some heart monitors, and recommends a Timex model (watch plus chest-strap) for US$50.

Now if Factory Direct would just carry a $20 Chinese INR tester. . . .

 

[normofthenorth]

OK, about that "Second problem is that it seems to be a fine watch for an incredible price, but it doesn't read my pulse. If I press hard, it will register a pulse every time I press a little HARDER (and it will calculate a pulse-rate from that), but that's not very useful."

I just got this amazingly inexpensive ($2.99 POSTPAID!!) heart-rate monitor to work, and it works well, once you figure out how to do it! Turns out I was pushing too hard, maybe even stopping the blood flowing through my finger. When I press lightly, and especially when I use my middle finger, it works perfectly first time, every time! It's also a pretty nice-looking watch, and it has some advanced features, too, like calculating how many calories you burned, etc.

Main limitation is that it only calculates your pulse when you press buttons to get it into that mode, then stick your finger on it for around 10 seconds. Also, the "BIOS" unit with the chest strap calculates the HR from every 2 or 3 heartbeats. This one counts the total during the ~10 seconds. So if the BIOS misses one of your heartbeats, it reads low for a couple of seconds, then reports the right number. This one just gives the one number, which will be a little low. Still, I'm finding this one pretty useful -- and it doesn't irritate my itchy, rashy chest skin the way the chest strap has been doing.

Bottom line is that ALL THREE of the cheap Chinese health monitors I bought work amazingly well. FYI.

 

[epstns]

Norm - I've been a runner/jogger for over 30 years. For the past 8 or 9 years, I've been aware of my valve condition and have been using heart rate monitors as I run. I stayed away from the "price leaders" as I felt that knowing what is up with my heart is worth the extra price. The best value for the price I've found were the Timex Ironman series. The best units, although more expensive and less user-serviceable were the Polar brand.

If the hunt for low price rings your bell, have a ball. Otherwise, I'd rather feel that I can trust the consistency and accuracy of a known brand.

Just my $.02 here. . .

 

[Lynlw]

I'm a little curious, couldn't you have gotten 1 "tried and true" watch monitor with the money you spend to buy a few cheaper ones? Or was this not about saving you money, just something to play around with and kill time experimenting with while recovering from OHS?

 

[Jkm7]

For the vast majority of us who aren't super athletes and have no pressing need to always monitor our pulse, why do it? Things of that sort make me feel like a patient. I'm not. I go regularly for my checkups, doctors do their 'vitals' checks, I have no symptoms and go on with my life. My blood pressure is consistently fine when checked my doctors so I don't drag out the monitor (though I do own one). If I had symptoms, perhaps a doctor might recommend doing all these self-checks, but do most of us really need to?

 

[epstns]

Jkm - I surely do not consider myself a super athlete, but the heart rate monitor helped me to document my performance (or decline in performance) so that I could decide when things got bad enough for surgery. Now, I plan to use a monitor post-surgery to watch my recovery. No big deal either way. . . I'm just a sort of control freak.

 

[Jkm7]

Thanks, Steve. I don't want to highjack this thread but really wonder how many VR'ers do pulse/blood pressure checks if they are not experiencing symptoms or specifically told to do so by their doctors.

 

[normofthenorth]

First, I've been pushing my rehab -- e.g., with a week of downhill skiing at Whistler 8-9 weeks post-op -- and I'm not very good at finding my pulse in my wrists or neck (which was way covered up while I was skiing, anyway!), so I wanted a HR monitor for that reason. I also had a resting HR of ~90 post-op, compared to ~60 pre-op, and I'm VERY curious about whether, and when, my pulse rate will go back to my former normal.

I've spent a total of ~$22.50 on the two cheap HR monitors, and I don't think that buys me a name-brand one. I'm not planning on adding a third, especially now that I've discovered that BOTH of them work well! (Yes, I DO enjoy getting a bargoon! It's kind of a hobby. And sharing the info on the "winners" is part of the fun.)

The Blood Pressure monitor wasn't something I felt I needed, but when I saw one for $20, I bought it, and I've been surprised at how well it works, so I've been checking my BP every morning. It also reads HR, which was an advantage while I was waiting for HR monitor #1 to arrive from HK. (Mind you, this morning, at ~2.5 months since I started using it, it's just started showing signs of pump failure [I'm pretty sure it's from valve prolapse/regurg! ], so it might be more "disposable" than I'd hoped!)