UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEART HEALTH WITH YOUR HELO

DR ALAN TEHhttp://palmdoc.net

THE HELO AND YOUR HEART

▪A powerful tool to keep track of heart health

▪Monitors round the clock:

1. Blood pressure

2. Heart Rate

▪Check the ECG on demand

BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE HEART

▪STRUCTURE

▪FUNCTION

STRUCTURE

• 4 chambers, 2 on each side

• ATRIA (pleural for atrium) – left and right

• Ventricles – left and right

Right

Atrium

Right

Ventricle

Left

Atrium

Left

Ventricle

Aorta

pulmonary artery

FUNCTION

• Unoxygenated blood from veins flows into RA

• RA pumps blood into RV

• RV pumps blood to lungs (where blood is oxygenated)

• Oxygenated blood returns to LA

• LA pumps oxygenated blood to LV

• LV pumps oxygenated blood to rest of body

Right

Atrium

Right

Ventricle

Left

Atrium

Left

Ventricle

Aorta

pulmonary artery

FUNCTION

The heart contracts in sequence:

RA and LA contracts first

Then

RV and LV contracts

The sequence is controlled by an internal electrical circuitry (conducting system) controlled by a pacemaker (sino atrial node)

Right

Atrium

Right

Ventricle

Left

Atrium

Left

Ventricle

Aorta

pulmonary artery

BLOOD PRESSURE

• Systolic pressure is when the ventricles contract- this is the “top number”

• Diastolic pressure is when the ventricles are relaxed- this is the “bottom number”

WHAT IS NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE?

An average reading for a normal adult is about 120/80 mmHg

In adults the ideal BP is a Systolic reading between 90 – 120 and a Diastolic reading between 60 – 80

WHAT IS HYPERTENSION?

Hypertension or High Blood pressure is when the BP is persistently above 140/90 and is an important risk factor for stroke and heart attack

If the BP is only sometimes high, this could be a labile blood pressure, elevated during a visit to a doctor, emotional stress or exercise and not true Hypertension. Labile BP is usually not clinically significant.

HOW CAN THE HELO HELP WITH BP?

• By charting your BP round the clock, the HELO is an “ambulatory BP monitor” and the trend can help determine if elevated BP is true Hypertension or just labile blood pressure

• For those with Hypertension, it will help determine if your BP is well controlled

• Please note that the HELO needs to be properly calibrated before first use (and after each hard reset or firmware update) for each individual using a proper blood pressure set (best done at your doctor’s office)

HEART RATEThe HELO is a convenient tool to measure on-demand and also track your heart rate around the clock as opposed to manually checking your pulse rate

Normal Resting Heart Rate varies with age and degree of physical fitness but for adults is 60-100 and more usually between 50-80 beats per minute (bpm). Athletes and the very fit tend to have lower resting heart rates.

HEART RATEFast heart rate is called Tachycardia (>100 bpm) and can be due to

- exercise, stress or fright- fever- anaemia- drugs and medication- alcohol- heart disease including heart rhythm disorders- hyperthyroidism

Slow heart rate is called Bradycardia (<60 bpm) and can be due to - athlete’s heart- drugs and medication- heart disease including heart rhythm disorders- hypothyroidism

HEART RATE

Abnormalities in heart rate, especially in combination with symptoms like:- chest pain- shortness of breath- feeling dizzy or faint- palpitationscould indicate a serious heart disorder and should prompt one to seek medical attention immediately

UNDERSTANDING THE ECG (aka EKG IN USA )

This is a tool used by doctors to measure the rate and rhythm of the heart, as well as provide indirect evidence of blood flow to the heart muscle.

A standardized system has been developed for the electrode placement for a routine ECG. Ten electrodes are needed to produce 12 electrical views of the heart:Limb Leads I, II, IIIAugmented Limb Leads aVR, aVL and aVFChest leads V1 to V6

The HELO ECG function is in effect a lead I measuring the voltage between the Left Arm and Right Arm

UNDERSTANDING THE ECGThe normal electrical pattern measured the ECG is:

P wave (measures atrial activity)QRS wave (measures ventricular depolarization or contraction)T wave (measures ventricular repolarization or recovery)

The normal heart rhythm is called Sinus Rhythm. Abnormal heart rhythms are called Arrhythmias

Fast heart rates (tachycardia), can be due to Sinus tachycardiaSupra ventricular tachycardia (SVT)Atrial fibrillationVentricular Tachycardia (VT)Slow heart rates (bradycardia) can be due to Sinus bradycardiaVarious types of Heart blockIrregular heart rhythms can be due toAtrial fibrillationExtra beats (ventricular or supra-ventricular ectopics)

EXAMPLES OF ECG PATTERNS

Normal Sinus Rhythm

Atrial fibrillation Supra ventricular Tachycardia Ventricular Tachycardia

Ventricular ectopics (extra beats or PVCs) Complete heart block

CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO

The HELO works like a single limb lead (lead I measuring the voltages between the right arm and left arm)

With it, one can assess further the heart rate and rhythm

The video on the left demonstrates ECG measurement with the HELO

It is important to place your index finger on the ECG plate and be steady. If there is too much movement the ECG reading will be “noisy” and not accurate

CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO

The ECG can also be checked together with the Heart rate and Blood pressure in the single stepHeart Check

Please note that the ECG recording does not come on till about the 84 second countdown mark

The video on the left shows how the Heart check with the HELO is conducted

CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO

Note that 30 days worth of ECG recordings are stored in your device.

To access ECG recordings to playback (e.g. to show your doctor), visit My Report, tap on ECG, then tap LIST to display the previous recordings.If you tap on any of the items in the list, you can playback the ECG recorded at that day and time

CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO

By now you should appreciate what a normal ECG pattern looks like. I have encountered users experiencing problems with the HELO in that sometimes abnormal patterns are reported as OK or “Normal” by the HELO.If your ECG is not recording properly, make sure you have updated to the latest firmware and companion app versions and try a hard reset (8 sec press) .If all fails, contact World support as there may be a hardware problem with your HELO.

This is a reasonableECG recording showing sinus rhythm with a discernible P and QRS pattern . Not bad for a consumer grade device.

This is a very poor recording which looks more like Ventricular tachycardia than sinus rhythm. It is certainly not OK and not normal.

CONCLUSIONS▪ I personally find the HELO is a useful tool for consumers to monitor their heart

health

▪ With it you can track your heart rate, rhythm and blood pressure round the clock

▪ This presentation will hopefully help you understand and interpret the findings as you use your HELO in your daily life

▪ If you appreciate the presentation, please visit my blog at:http://palmdoc.net for reviews on the HELO and other mobile tech infolinks to my Facebook page and Twitter feed are in the blog.Feel free to ask questions in my Facebook page or tweet me @palmdoc