Originally Posted by
gthomson
Does having a heart monitor help in preventing problems with the heart? I've been thinking I should get one to start monitoring my heart rate as I have a history in my family with heart problems.
A heart monitor will alert you to your heart racing when it shouldn’t be, so in a way it will alert you to seek care, but not prevent. Apple watches and others are more sophisticated devices can detect skipped beats and irregularities when fed into a program to look for such. I use a simple chest strap when cycling which only tells me current heart rate and it is up to me to look at my bike computer to see if I am in my normal. So it depends how much you want to spend for a monitor and its functionality. With a history of family issues I would probably start with an EKG and then figure out what kind of monitor might be prudent.