# Anyone familiar with heart-rate monitors? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796 "2015-01-14T05:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveBfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DaveBfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveBfd)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/1 "2015-01-14T05:42:31Z")
I want to see if/how my heart rate changes during seizures. My doc asked me about this but I am unable to check for myself even though I only have SPS. Even if somebody who I was comfortable with were beside me I am doubtful I could articulate it to them to check for me as that is the last thing on my mind at the time. To get around this, I want to get some form of monitor that can record the info for me. I searched amazon and I see mostly sport focused watches. All I need is something which can give maybe 8 hours of history for me to look at at each time I check. Has anyone gone about getting a HRM for any purpose for themselves, or do any of you have any information I might find useful? Would a sports watch work? I appreciate any help you guys can give. Thanks 🙂 Ideally, also, my budget would be around $50 max, ideally as little as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/2 "2015-01-14T05:56:36Z")
I don’t know a huge amount about this (so hopefully someone else will chime in), but I don’t think what you want exists for the price you want. There are cheap HR monitor watches, but they tend to have a sensor you have to touch manually and just gives you an instantaneous figure. Some use a waistband, which is inconvenient and still probably not continuous. What you want is one of the new fitness trackers. Trouble is, they aren’t that cheap. One example is the [Fitbit Charge HR](https://www.fitbit.com/chargehr), which runs for days at a time and tracks continuously. However, it’s $150. I have a Fitbit Flex and am happy with the overall quality, so I imagine the Charge HR is a good product, but it’s a lot more that you want to pay. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/3 "2015-01-14T05:59:11Z")
Your biggest problem will be battery life. The chest strap is non-rechargable and is not intended for 24/7 operation. I doubt anything designed for medical monitoring can be had for $50. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/4 "2015-01-14T06:11:44Z")
Here’s the [HR page](http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/Heart-rate-FAQs?c=Topics%3AAccuracy&p=charge_hr&fs=Search&pn=1&l=en_US) on the FitBit **Dr Strangelove** linked to. It looks to be a bit finicky about wearing it for proper readings and the company is a bit vague on accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![DaveBfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DaveBfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveBfd)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/5 "2015-01-14T06:28:14Z")
I appreciate these quick responses, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/6 "2015-01-14T11:00:16Z")
My mother has heart issues, her doctor had her wear something provided by the NHS to be returned for analysis after a week or so. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/7 "2015-01-14T12:09:11Z")
Moving thread from General Questions to IMHO. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/8 "2015-01-14T13:43:41Z")
It is quite likely that Doc could have you, through a local hospital’s (or even Doc him/herself if it can be ‘borrowed/rented’ from a hospital supply company), have a Holter monitor put to use.[Here’s a google link](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=off&q=holter+monitor) to peruse for more info for your convenience It’s basically a smallish unit with leads placed upon you for 24 hours that records all of the duration. I have helped cardio-pulm techs/Docs place them upon patients quite a few times. A mild annoyance with the leads upon your torso and unit hanging off you like a small purse, yes, but worth it for those kind of sporadic reoccuring ‘events’. It is a Rx-basedd item, I think, so check with Doc about reasonableness of your wants/needs, etc. Just a thought. HTH ETA After posting, I saw **One and Only Wanderes** ’s post, and I bet the Holter is what she had upon her, but can’t say for certain. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/9 "2015-01-14T15:46:38Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Your biggest problem will be battery life. The chest strap is non-rechargable and is not intended for 24/7 operation. > > I doubt anything designed for medical monitoring can be had for $50. Garmin VivoFit with HRM - (they sell it both with or without HRM strap) is $170 & can be used for 24/7 since the HRM strap battery is user-replaceable. My guess is that you’d get a week to weeks out of a battery at that constant usage level. However, I don’t know if “medical monitoring” is any more stringent than fitness monitoring. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/10 "2015-01-14T21:01:29Z")
[Polar H7 Bluetooth HRM](http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Bluetooth-Smart-Heart-Sensor/dp/B007S088F4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421269111&sr=8-5&keywords=polar+heart+rate+monitor) Interfaces with your smartphone. $52. ---
**Author:** ![DaveBfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DaveBfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveBfd)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-familiar-with-heart-rate-monitors/709796/11 "2015-01-15T02:45:55Z")
Thanks for all the comments everyone. I really appreciate it.