Monitoring your heart rate or pulse is very important when it comes to your health. Either a very high or very low heart rate can be dangerous, and both can be signs of serious health conditions.
Of course, there are other factors which can affect heart rate besides health. For instance, professional athletes often use heart rate monitors to keep track of their level of fitness.
That said, there are two main ways or machines which measure your heart rate, these being basic personal heart rate monitors and professional ECG machines. So, when it comes to ECG vs. heart rate monitor, how do they work and what’s the difference between them?
What is an EKG?
ECG stands for electrocardiogram, and is sometimes also referred to as an EKG. This is a test which monitors how well your heart is functioning. It does this by using special sensors which monitor the electrical activity of your heart.
Each time your heart beats, an electrical wave travels through the heart and causes the heart muscle to contract. An ECG measures each of these electrical impulses to see what the heart rate and function are like.
What is a Heart Rate Monitor?
A heart rate monitor is also a device that keeps track of your heart rate, although the way in which it measures your heart rate is different than how an ECG machine does.
Heart rate monitors, particularly the wrist based models, use something called PPG sensors.
Photoplethysmography sensors use light-based technology to measure the rate of blood flow. In other words, it can sense ambient light and its movement based on the movement of your blood.
Light is emitted from the heart rate monitor and then reflected back off of the tissue to come to a reading. It’s almost like sonar for your blood flow.
ECG vs. PPG Heart Rate Monitors: A Comparison
Seeing as both of these machines serve virtually the same purpose, yet function in different ways, let’s do a side-by-side comparison to see how they work.
Home vs. Professional Use
One difference between these two heart monitoring devices is where they are used. ECG machines are big, expensive, and usually only found in hospitals and medical clinics.
On the other hand, basic heart rate monitors are designed more for home and personal use. They can be chest or wrist based.
That said, there are some ECG monitors designed for home use, although these do tend to be more expensive.
Some watches, like Apple’s iWatch has both an ECG as well as heart rate monitors. The quality of the ECG tracing isn’t high quality, but it can monitor situations like atrial fibrillation.
Accuracy
One thing you are probably wondering is which of these two devices is more accurate when it comes to monitoring the heart rate. When it comes down to it, ECG machines are much more accurate in terms of getting a precise heart rate reading.
PPH heart rate monitors monitor heart rate, but they are really only ideal for average or moving average measurements. Simply put, PPG heart rate monitors are usually not as accurate as electrocardiograms.
Probe Placement
Another difference that you may not have considered between these two devices is the best place is to take measurements.
With ECG machines, seeing as they measure the electrical pulses coming from the heart, the best area to monitor is the chest. For this reason, ECG machines usually always use chest-located probes for measurement.
On the other hand, because PPG heart rate monitors use light to measure your heart rate, it is possible to use the chest, toes, fingers, temples, wrists, and earlobes to take measurements. In this sense, the basic heart rate monitor is definitely the easier and more versatile option to go with.
When to Use a PPG Heart Rate Monitor
EKG machines are great for doctors to use in clinical settings, but they may qualify as overkill for basic home use. So, what are some examples of situations where using a basic PPG monitor, such as a wrist based heart monitor is the better or easier choice?
- For tracking your heart rate at the gym or during exercise in general
- If you want to track your heart rate without having to carry around extra sensors
- Being able to wear heart rate monitors over thing clothing (maybe because it’s cold)
- For tracking your heart rate around the clock
- For monitoring your heart rate while you sleep
Conclusion
The bottom line is that while ECG machines are more advanced in terms of how they function and their level of accuracy, basic PPG heart rate monitors are cheaper, easier to wear, easier to interpret, and are perfect for home use.