The Perfect Christmas Gifts for the Palpitating or Hypertensive In Your Life

Into the blue again, after the money's gone

The last time the skeptical cardiologist made Christmas gift recommendations was in 2015 when I recommended the Omron 10 series BP monitor and the AliveCor Mobile ECG device. Updated Omron and Alivecor devices are on my new and improved list along with the Apple Watch.

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As December draws ever closer to the twenty-fifth you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile puzzling over the perfect gift for your loved ones.

Fear not, for the skeptical cardiologist has a few suggestions to help you.

Christmas arrives with multiple stressors guaranteed to hike your blood pressure. If your hypertensive friend or relative already has all the standard BP paraphernalia(pill splitter, basic BP cuff), owns a smart-phone and has an engineer or scientist approach to data, the Omron Evolv is a good choice.

I wrote a detailed review of this in 2019 ( “The Omron Evolv One-Piece Blood Pressure Monitor: Accurate, Quick And Connected”) and it is the cuff I personally use and take on airplanes (yes, I am ready to “heed the call”).

I have been recommending this to most of my patients since then for the following reasons

• Portability and compactness. One-piece design without tubes or wires.

• Rigorously proven accuracy

• Esthetically pleasing

• Quicker and more comfortable than “deflationary” cuffs

• Read-out on cuff-no separate unit or smartphone required

• Communicates well with highly functional app for organizing or reporting BP measurements over time

• Coordination of ECG measurements from Kardia and BP measurements on app through KardiaProfacilitates physician management of patient’s cardiovascular conditions.

Alivecor’s KardiaMobile Card ECG Device

In my 2015 article I recommended the original Kardia device. Since then, AliveCor has come out with a 6 lead device and the KardiaCard.

Earlier this year I reviewed the KardiaCard enthusiastically (KardiaMobile Card Review: Accurate ECG Recording and Analysis From a Credit-Card Sized Device”.)

It records a high-quality ECG reliably and is highly accurate at identifying atrial fibrillation. With a subscription to Kardia’s Advanced Determinations it will diagnose atrial fibrillation, premature ventricular contractions, premature atrial contractions and bradycardia with great accuracy.

This is the Kardia device I recommend to my patients and it is the one I carry with me at all times

As I noted earlier this year with rare exceptions, there is no compelling reason to purchase the more expensive Kardia 6L:

“Readers may wonder if they are losing anything by having only a single lead ECG with the Kard versus the six leads a Kardia 6L offers. I tend to think the vast majority of users are not losing out and agree with this reader’s comments on the matter:

I’ve used the 6L 6-lead device regularly since they first became available and it does give more information, but in my case I never found having more information to be of real value over the single lead device. I also found the 6L to be bothersome in the aspect that I either had to pull up one pvaiant leg or pull down a sock to be able to take a 6-lead reading.

Overall, I view the Kard as another wonderful contribution to personal ECG and remote monitoring. Most people carry a wallet or a combined cell phone/credit card accessory with them almost all the time. If the Kard is sitting in that accessory it will be available if and when rhythm analysis is warranted.

This development puts AliveCor on equal footing with Apple Watch ECG for ease and simplicity of real-world use but at a lower price point and with the advantage of AliveCor’s Advanced Determinations.

If your friend or loved one is experiencing periodic fluttering in their chest or a sensation of the heart skipping beats or racing (the general term for which is palpitations) then this could be the perfect gift.

Apple Watch

I’ve been an Apple Watch enthusiast since it first came out. I described 6 “non-health reasons” I loved the AW in 2017.

Since then Apple has focused on health and upped its game.

The single lead ECG in the current AW series is very reliable and the Apple algorithm for atrial fibrillation is close to the Kardia in accuracy. However, if you are having palpitations that are due to extra beats (PVCs, PACs), the AW is not capable of identifying them.

In addition, AW now can measure oxygen saturation and attempts to give information on sleep architecture.

AW also helps you monitor your exercise heart rate, one-minute heart rate recovery (a simple and powerful predictor of your mortality) and estimates cardiorespiratory fitness (max V02.).

All these features (plus the ability to determine the time!) come at a cost of somewhere over $300.”

If you want to learn more about real-world comparisons of AW and Kardia check out my 2020 post on how one patient utilizes both of them to manager her atrial fibrillation.

May your holiday season be joyous, full of loved ones, and free of stressors that raise your blood pressure and cause your heart to pound and race. But if it is not, consider purchasing one of these nifty devices.

Same as it ever was
-ACP