heart rate monitoring
How fast does your engine run? A tachometer  monitors your engine's RPMs, you can also monitor your heart rate with easy to use tools.

So how you monitor this? You can use an automatic blood pressure cuff with this feature or  obtain a pulse oximeter at any store as pictured below. This device is easy to use once you follow the directions; you also benefit from monitoring your blood oxygen levels.

This device slips onto your finger and, in approximately  30 seconds, will give you a readout on your heart rate and oxygen level. If your heart rate is too high, also known as tachycardia, this could be caused by an underlying condition. Tachycardia is typically your heart beating over 100 bpm. However, some healthcare providers do not become alarmed unless it is over 110 bpm due to existing underlying conditions is the reason you should obtain specific advice from your healthcare provider.

A few of the reasons that your heart may be beating too fast could be anemia, drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, imbalance of electrolytes, medication side effects, hyperthyroidism, smoking, and the use of stimulant drugs as well. If your heart rate is consistently too high, you may experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, lightheadedness, heart palpitations, chest pain, and fainting. Suppose you find yourself with your heart beating higher than the parameters specified by your healthcare provider. In that case, you want to call and report these findings if they stay consistent over multiple readings on the pulse oximeter when seated at rest for five minutes.

Likewise, your heartbeat could be too slow, also known as bradycardia. Bradycardia means that your heart is beating too slow- fewer than 60 times a minute and can be caused by heart tissue damage, whether from aging or heart attack, congenital heart defect, infection of the heart tissue- myocarditis, a complication of heart surgery, hypothyroidism, imbalance of chemicals in the blood such as potassium and calcium, repeated disruption of breathing during sleep also known as sleep apnea and some medications.

Symptoms can include near-fainting or fainting, dizziness or lightheadedness, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, confusion or memory problems due to the lack of blood flow to the brain, quickly tiring during physical activity.

EASY TO USE PULSE OXIMETER

WHICH VITAL SIGNS TO MONITOR

  • BODY TEMPERTURE

    First off is your temperature; as we all know, if your temperature is above 101.0°F, you likely have some infectious process going on. The sooner you obtain care, the less likely it is to become catastrophic and require hospitalization.

  • CHECK YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE

    Taking your blood pressure every day can prevent a disaster from happening. I find that more people understand how their car works as compared to how their blood pressure works.

  • WARNING LIGHTS VITAL SIGNS

    What you should know about vital signs and why they’re important

  • OXYGEN LEVEL MONITORING

    measure your blood oxygen levels daily. Typically should stay above 90%, though if you have COPD, your healthcare provider may set your level => 88%.

  • WEIGHT MONITORING

    Watching your weight with a disease processes such as congestive heart failure, as weight gain overnight could indicate worsening of your condition.

  • MONITORING BLOOD SUGAR

    Blood sugar levels in a healthy range prevents low glucose levels which can cause a loss of function and prevent high glucose levels that causes damage.