the beat

Do-It-Yourself ECG!

Why put up with the old way to an ECG? At the most it takes time and costs money. At the least, it’s a hassle. Making the appointment…visiting your doctor…slipping into that breezy hospital gown and letting a lab tech hook you up. The new way is as simple as resting your fingers on your smartphone and letting technology do the rest.

It’s called the AliveCor Heart Monitor (alivecor.com) and it clips onto your smartphone like a phone case. Just rest your newly transformed cellphone on your chest or touch your fingers to the screen and, when used with the AliveECG app, that’s all there is to it. Your phone sends results to your doctor and voila–instant ECG.

But hold the phone–there’s more! As a bonus, AliveCor does a lot of other things to improve your state of health like tracking palpitations and shortness of breath, noting habits like caffeine or alcohol consumption, and monitoring activities like exercise or sleep. All from the palm of your hand….