normofthenorth
Well-known member
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. . . .
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. . . .
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