Home heart monitors measure and record your heart rate. Fitness enthusiasts use heart monitors at home to maximize the benefits of their workout. Patients suffering from certain health conditions require a home heart monitor as a component of ongoing care. Mental, physiological and environmental factors, including stress, hydration level and altitude, can alter your heart rate.
Basics
A typical home heart monitor consists of two components. There is a digital display that looks and wears like a wrist watch, as well as a transmitter worn around your chest and against your skin. It is a wireless device and uses a coded transmission to reduce signal interference.
Features
You have many features to choose from when purchasing a home heart monitor. Exercise-friendly features include a stopwatch, lap timer and graphics indicating when you are in your target training zone. Some models have a computer link and a reading that tells you how many calories you burned. Expect varying sizes of stored memory.
24-Hour Holter Monitoring
To perform a type of electrocardiogram called ambulatory electrocardiography, the patient must wear a Holter heart monitoring system for 24 hours. Small electrodes that look like patches are attached to your chest and a small battery-powered monitor that fits in a small case is connected to your body via electrical wires. Patients are fitted with the heart monitor and return home, where they must record any symptoms and all activities. You then return to the doctor to have the monitor removed and hand in your diary.
Blood Pressure Monitor
A blood pressure monitor allows you to take blood pressure readings at home. It measures the systolic and diastolic pressure of your heart. The systolic pressure is the top number and represents the highest pressure in your arteries when your heart pumps blood. The diastolic pressure is the bottom number and represents your blood pressure when your heart rests. Blood pressure monitors that feature a cuff are recommended over those that attach to your finger or wrist.
Infant Heart-Respiratory Monitors
Some infants are sent home with a home heart-respiratory monitor. The gathered data is used to help make the best decisions regarding treatment. The heart-respiratory monitor keeps track of your infant's breathing rate, heart beat and oxygen level. Patches are attached to the infant's skin and are connected to the machine via electric cable.
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