A heart monitor also commonly referred to as a Cardiac monitor helps you in improving quality of life by letting you get an update and an opportunity to keep an eye on your current health condition, this device is highly crucial for those who are suffering from a critical heart condition and not only for them it plays a significant role for athletes that need to be aware and keep track of their performance and any improvement regarding it. If you want to understand in an easy word what is a cardiac (Heart) monitor? Well, a Cardiac(heart) monitor is a way of watching, measuring, and recording the heart’s electrical activity which is why it is crucial for those who need to manage heart conditions frequently.
It uses the technique of electrocardiograms (ECGs) or portable heart monitors, which makes it a highly desirable device for detecting any abnormalities and irregular heartbeats and tracking performance anywhere as it is an easily wearable device.
If you are someone who is suffering from a mild or severe heart condition but does not want to be restricted due to your illness and wants to live a healthy and active lifestyle, then you might have concerns related to the restriction while wearing a heart monitor, especially when it comes to doing the workout. In this guideline, by Respiratory Zone we will help you understand one of the major concerns related to cardiac (heart) monitors that is: Can you work out while wearing a heart monitor? That will help you understand how you can exercise while ensuring the protection of your cardiac (heart) monitor and you can effectively manage both exercise and heart monitor to get the benefits of both worlds.
Understanding: Can you work out while wearing a heart monitor?
Let us understand in a better way how we can easily manage and prevent devices, especially from preventing damage and functionality of heart monitors. Here is what you need to understand about heart (cardiac) monitors.
What Is a Cardiac Monitor?
A cardiac monitor is considered a significant piece of medical equipment, that plays a crucial role in enhancing the quality of life by giving real-time updates about heart activity. Here are the important and most common types of Heart (cardiac) monitors that give desirable results of getting an accurate update related to heart rate and its rhythm:
- Holter Monitor
- Event Monitor
- Implantable Loop Recorder
- Wearable Monitors
A Cardiac(heart) monitor is often recommended by healthcare specialists, to get an idea and easily analyze your health condition that overall helps in improving your health.
Exercising with a Cardiac Monitor
In most cases, it is recommended and is considered a likable choice to wear a cardiac monitor as it is easily wearable but do you know there are still some important considerations that you need to take care of and that cannot be neglected, Here are the following thing that should not be avoided:
1. Check with Your Doctor First
Before opting for any heart (cardiac) monitor, it is better to consult your healthcare specialist and deeply discuss the exercise that you are looking forward to performing, as they can give better suggestions related to exercise and which device will work best for you specially tailored for your current heart condition.
2. Understand the Monitor’s Purpose
Your heart specialist will closely study your heart condition during each exercise, they might ask you to perform easy or hard exercises to get a better idea of which exercises are suitable according to your current heart condition by closely monitoring the response by your heart to each exercise.
3. Choose the Right Type of Exercise
If you are someone who is not used to performing exercise daily or regularly, then it is better to avoid intense workouts or outside at the very beginning, gentle and moderate exercises will be more suitable. Also through excessive sweating, there is a high chance that you might damage your cardiac monitor.
4. Monitor Placement and Comfort
When it comes to performing normal daily activities there is almost no chance of risk to the heart monitor, however, during exercise, there is a chance that your cardiac monitor might get dangled or damaged which is why you need to take extra precautions. So to protect your device you need to be careful about a few things. Follow these simple steps to keep your device safe and receive optimal performance:
- Detached electrodes of your cardiac monitor from the area of your skin that has more chance of sweating, always opt to attach your device to a clean and dry skin area. Be careful about the placement of electrodes.
- If you are someone, who is prone to skin irritation it is recommended and advised to wear a well-fitted and dry fabric.
- Try to avoid those exercises in which there is more chance of wires or straps getting tangled.
Benefits of Exercising While Monitored
There are several benefits of using a cardiac monitor while performing an exercise such as determining which exercise is safer for you. It also allows your heart specialist to make proper physical exercise and treatment plans according to its measurements.
Are There Any Restrictions While Wearing a Heart Monitor During Workouts?
One of the major concerns among people wearing heart monitors is that if there is any restriction regarding wearing a heart monitor and performing exercise along with it, as we have discussed earlier there are a few things that you need to be considerate about, let us now get an insight regarding restriction:
Restrictions Based on Exercise Intensity
Be careful about the restrictions based on your exercise intensity by your healthcare specialist, and be mindful about acting upon your doctor’s advice and recommendation, sometimes even a little negligence can often impact negatively your health, Also it is best to avoid exercise that leaves the room for physical contact as due to collision there is a high possibility of the damage to your heart monitor.
Watch for Symptoms During Exercise
There are a few symptoms that you need to be careful about when exercising and it is highly advised and recommended that if you see these especially frequently then it is better to contact your healthcare specialist. The following are the symptoms that you need to take care of:
- You feel dizzy and lightheadedness after performing exercise
- If you are struggling to breathe due to severe shortness of breath.
- Feeling chest pain and discomfort during or after the exercise
- You notice irregular heartbeats even after performing light exercise.
Keep a Log of Activities
It is crucial that if you are still recovering from your severe heart condition keep an eye on your activities, also recording physical activities is essential for some devices, following are the things that you require to be considered:
- The type of exercise you are performing is suitable, especially for your health
- The duration and intensity of each device
- Notice any symptoms experienced during or after the workout.
What to Avoid During Workouts with a Heart Monitor
There are a few conditions in which it is highly crucial to skip using the heart monitor such as
- Swimming or Water Sports:
Not all heart monitors are waterproof and even if they are still you need to be careful about the water because electrical devices like heart monitors are easily prone to get impacted and damaged by water content or moisture.
- Heavy Lifting:
Heavy lifting cannot only disrupt the placement of electrodes and eventually displace your cardiac monitor but can also impact your heart rhythm.
- Extreme Conditions:
If you are seeing an irregular change in the weather conditions like heat or cold, then it is better to not use the heart monitor while exercising as most heart monitors cannot sustain extreme heat or cold temperatures.
Tips for Working Out with a Cardiac Monitor
Following are the tips that can help you to ensure the safety of your and the device:
- Stay Hydrated
- Warm Up and Cool Down
- Listen to Your Body
- Keep the Monitor Dry
- Follow Recording Guidelines
