What it does
Instant Heart Rate does exactly what it says on the tin – it instantly measures your heart rate with nothing more than your smartphone. It does this using a very clever trick: your phone’s camera is sensitive enough to be able to detect the flow of blood in vessels that are close to the surface of the skin.
If that sounds complicated, it’s not – you simply hold your finger gently against the phone’s camera for a few seconds and, voila, it measures your pulse. The whole exercise takes less than a minute and is remarkably consistent and accurate. I tested mine alongside a traditional monitor and the results were consistently within 2% of each other.
The app also keeps a record of your measurements and you can tag them with useful metadata, like whether the measurement was before or after exercise. If you buy a premium subscription you can even export reports and send them to your doctor as a PDF.
How it helps
Being able to instantly measure your heart rate wherever you are can be incredibly comforting to anyone suffering from a heart or blood pressure related malady. It’s also useful for gauging your stress levels, and checking your fitness levels.
The app’s reviews are full of people who claim the app literally saved their lives by detecting early warning signs of things like stroke and heart attack. Even though we should take these claims with a pinch of salt, Instant Heart Rate is a very useful tool for taking a baseline pulse wherever and whenever needed.
The only criticism I have for the app is the sheer volume of ads and offers that bombard you from time to time. Given that it is not a free app, you might expect a little less “hard sell” for the premium subscription service. But, apart from that, it is good value for money.
Conclusion
Instant Heart Rate is a great single-purpose tool for anyone who wants (or needs) to be able to quickly check their pulse rate without buying or donning expensive equipment. At R40, it’s extremely good value, despite a few annoying ads.
What other users say
“When I was 51, I found myself feeling really sluggish. I thought it may have been menopause or maybe depression. At the same time I kept using the app to check my heart rate and it repeatedly came out in the low 40’s. This went on for a couple of weeks until I finally took my results in to the cardiologist. At first he didn’t believe me and since I had no other symptoms he said the app was just wrong. Because I had consistently been get such low pulse reading I kept pestering him and he reluctantly order a Holter monitor test. When the results came back the next evening I was told to get to the ER asap and had a pacemaker the next morning. Turns out had complete heart block which is an electrical issue not a cholesterol/artery one. Without this app detecting my low pulse I would not have pushed the cardiologist the run any tests and would have listened when he said I was fine. I am so grateful for this app. Not sure what would have happened without it.” – Happylittlecamper
What the experts say
“This app is a very useful addition to your mobile phone. You can check your resting heart rate in bed in the morning or your exercise pulse on demand. The readings are consistent and reliable. The free app and the low-priced paid version without a subscription are far cheaper than any pulse monitor device or fitness wearable. But it is no substitute for a dedicated heart rate monitor with chest strap for accurate, continuous heart rate measurement.” – Verywellfit.com
Leave a Reply