Monday, March 29, 2021

Polar H10 ECG tracing - a short how to guide

Question: Why bother with looking at ECG tracings?

Answers (click on each to expand): 

Differentiate noise from cardiac arrhythmia

Optimize signal for most precise heart rate variability measurements

Getting a more accurate DFA a1 measurement

Recognize early signs of atrial fibrillation

Distinguish atrial from ventricular arrhythmia

Using Kubios Premium for ECG derived respiratory rate

Exercise intensity thresholds using ECG derived respiratory rate 

 

Multiple previous posts in this blog have examined the Movesense Medical module and HR plus in terms of single lead ECG devices.  At a relatively moderate cost, they are able to provide accurate HRV and rhythm analysis using the premium version of Kubios software.  However, what if you just had a Polar H10 and wanted to see what your ECG rhythm looked like - could you do it? 

Here is what the output looks like on an S21:


Pretty cool!

Requirements: Polar H10, spreadsheet program like Excel (for a long session), Polar Sensor Logger App for android

Shortcomings: Kubios free will not process the data, sample rate is only 130 Hz - probably adequate for DFA a1 precision, but not ideal.

Instructions:

  • Install the Polar Sensor app, wear the H10 HRM
  • Open the app, choose your device, pick ECG as the output type, hit start.

 

  • To see the above graph, scroll to the right under graphs and it should show.  
  • When you press "stop" you can save the file to your storage to view in Excel.
  • Locate the file and open it with a spreadsheet program.
  • Just plot time x voltage:

How does it look in Kubios (premium):

  • An APC is easily spotted in this strip of mine
  • Seems reasonable for rhythm - APC, VPC, etc


And the waveform:

  • Not great.

Is it Kubios' fault? No.  Here is a view in the android app, magnified:

 
 
  • You can only get so much resolution out of this low sample rate.

 For a similar app designed for the iPhone, please see this


 

Comments:

  • Yes, we can get a rhythm strip from a Polar H10 with just an android/iOS app.
  • Detecting severe arrhythmia's should not be too difficult for those familiar with reading these tracings.
  • To get either HRV or aberrant beat detection, you still need Kubios premium.
  • For those who think they are having abnormal beats and don't have a medical background, YMMV.

Heart rate variability during dynamic exercise

 


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8 comments:

  1. oxoneilMarch 29, 2021 at 10:21 PM

    I'm interested to know what makes your APC highly visible, the wave form looks all the same to my untrained eyes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BJRMDMarch 30, 2021 at 4:09 AM

      The APC comes early and has a normal waveform - https://litfl.com/premature-atrial-complex-pac/

      Delete
    2. martintobinApril 29, 2024 at 7:31 AM

      There's a very interesting app for recording ECG and PVC; it's called Polar H10 ECG Analysis. It works very well for me
      https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.biosignalssolutions.polarh10ecganalysis

      Delete
  2. spookymuggsApril 26, 2021 at 12:22 PM

    I have just found that there is a polar app that will show ecg trace as well... the thing is it is for horses! Shows a live RR interval as well.

    https://support.polar.com/en/polar-equine-app-features?product_id=38589&category=features

    ReplyDelete
  3. youpmeloneApril 29, 2021 at 9:00 AM

    the polar equine works! Perfectly.
    Now i need software that analyses the ecg output..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BJRMDApril 29, 2021 at 9:09 AM

      Great to hear. Kubios premium will work, but if you find anything else low cost, let me know

      Delete
  4. Nick TaylorOctober 8, 2022 at 3:10 PM

    Just stumbled across this post. Not sure if you're still interested in this topic but I have an android app now available that renders the ECG data stream from the Polar H10 smoothly and can automatically detect and capture rhythm abnormalities for review.... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nickDTaylor.cardioCapture

    Happy to forward you a code for free access if you want to trial it.

    ReplyDelete

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