AliveCor's Kardia Band Is Now Available: Mobile ECG On Your Apple Watch

AliveCor has finally gotten approval from the FDA to release its Kardia Band in the United States.
The skeptical cardiologist is quite excited to get his hands (or wrist) on one and just gave AliveCor $199 to get it.
The device incorporates a mobile ECG sensor into a wrist band that works with either 42 or 38 mm Apple watches. I’ve written extensively about AliveCor’s previous mobile ECG product (here and here) which does a good job of recording a single lead ECG rhythm strip and identifying atrial fibrillation versus normal rhythm,
Hopefully, the Kardia Band will work as well as the earlier device in accurately detecting atrial fibrillation.
According to this brief video to make a recording you tap the watch screen then put your thumb on the sensor on the band.

The app can monitor your heart rate constantly and alerts you  to make a recording if it thinks you have an abnormal rhythm.
I was alerted to the release of Kardia by Larry Husten’s excellent Cardio Brief blog and in his post he indicates that the alert service , termed Smart Rhythm,  requires a subscription of $99 per year.:

AliveCor simultaneously announced the introduction of SmartRhythm, a program for the Apple Watch that monitors the watch’s heart rate and activity sensors and provides real-time alerts to users to capture an ECG with the Kardia Band. The program, according to an AliveCor spokesperson, “leverages sophisticated artificial intelligence to detect when a user’s heart rate and physical activity are out of sync, and prompts users to take an EKG in case it’s signaling possible abnormalities like AFib.”

The Kardia Band will sell for $199. This includes the ability to record unlimited ECGs and to email the readings to anyone. The SmartRhythm program will be part of the company’s KardiaGuard membership, which costs $99 a year. KardiaGuard stores ECG recordings in the cloud and provides monthly summary reports on ECGs and other readings taken.

AliveCor tells me my Kardia Band will be shipped in 1-2 days and I hope to be able to give my evaluation of it before Christmas.

Please note that I paid for the device myself in order to avoid any bias that could be introduced by receiving largesse from AliveCor.

Proarrhythmically Yours

-ACP

N.B. Larry Husten’s article includes some perspective and warnings from two cardiologist and can be read here.

Another article on the Kardia Band release suggests that the Smart Rhythm program at $99/ year is a requirement.

Perhaps, AliveCor’s David Albert can weigh in on whether the annual subscription is a requirement for making recordings or just allows the continuous monitoring aspect.