Review: Guard your heart with Wellue Heart Health Monitor

ECG monitoring with smartwatches is becoming increasingly common. Apple, Fitbit, and a number of other brands have offered solutions. What they have in common is that they are on-demand, operated from the wrist, and typically capture a reading lasting around 30 seconds. Wellue Heart Health Monitor is something much more sophisticated.

This is the type of device that was previously only available in hospital settings. It offers round-the-clock ECG monitoring and provides analysis of up to 14 different types of abnormal cardiac events. The device is non-invasive and completely safe to use.

The procedure is simple and consists of sticking two electrodes on the skin of your chest. You can do this with a chest strap or patches.

In private hospitals, a single session with a 24-hour ECG monitor can cost you between $150 and $200. Wellue’s device comes with a one-time price of $299. There are no subscription fees or other expenses and more than one person can use it. You can view it at getwellue.com (use coupon GW10 for a 10% discount).

The company sells a range of other products. Our opinion on his O2Ring can be found on this link. This one is primarily designed for people who need to track their oxygen levels in detail, especially those who have or suspect they have sleep apnea or another medical condition. Wellue even sells a few portable wireless ultrasound devices that allow you to image a full human body!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve tested the Heart Health Monitor in a number of different usage scenarios and with different people. Here is what I made of it.

Wellue Heart Health Monitor Review: Design and Hardware

• Single lead ECG monitor
• Looks and feels like a standard heart chest strap
• Records up to 24 hours
• Three-day battery life on a single charge

look and feel

In the box, the heart health monitor comes with the main unit, a power/data cable for uploading and downloading data, a small USB drive with analysis software, a pack of electrode patches disposables and a chest strap. As for the USB key, you don’t really need it. It contains the PC version of the software, but you can also download it from the Wellue website along with the Mac equivalent. Also, downloading directly from the website will ensure you have the latest version, so that’s better.

The ECG monitor looks well made. it has a rubbery feel and the middle part bends. This is so that it hugs your chest better. The size of the main unit is 100 x 23 x 8.3 mm and it is extremely light (1.23 oz with the battery). Once positioned on your chest, you really don’t feel like you’re wearing it. If you’re a runner and you’ve worn a heart rate chest strap, it’s exactly the same.

There is no display or “On” button. When you attach the main unit to the pads, it automatically starts recording and stops when you remove it. Rather annoyingly, there’s no “Off” switch either. So it’s kind of like a TV that’s on standby – a little LED light flashes every few seconds even when the device isn’t in use. Which seems like a waste of battery life to me. It surely wouldn’t have been so difficult to add a small “Off” button.

Let’s quickly move on to water resistance which comes in at an IP22 rating. This means that the heart health monitor is “protected against insertion of fingers” and can withstand “vertical or nearly vertical drops of water”. It is therefore not waterproof.

Not surprising as I don’t really see a scenario where you would need to wear it in the water. This is a general health monitor, not a sports tracking device. That said, you can wear it while exercising.

Overall I like the design. The monitor is comfortable to wear, looks quality, and small enough to easily carry around with you. Plus, there’s no power-hungry display.

The device is much more convenient than a bulky hospital Holter ECG monitor with wires and 5-7 electrodes that need to be attached to the chest. My only wish would be to find a way to turn the thing off completely.

under the hood

Wellue Heart Health Monitor is a single lead ECG reader. It can record up to 360,000 ECG/EKG signals in a day, intelligently identifying a bunch of different cardiac arrhythmia risks. According to the company’s website, its analysis system is based on 300,000 patients and 50 million training data points.

As for the memory, you can store 10 individual ECG sessions or 30 hours of data here. The maximum session you can save is 24 hours. To make room, once the memory is full, it will start overwriting old data. But because you’re supposed to be using PC or Mac software, your historical data resides on your computer’s hard drive. Which makes your session logs unlimited.

Fully charged, the heart health monitor can work for 72 hours. Wellue says you can refuel 300 times before performance starts to degrade. A possibility of replacing the battery would be a plus. That said, with normal use, the Heart Health Monitor should be good for a few years before you start seeing battery degradation.

To refuel, simply plug one end of the proprietary cable into the monitor and the other end into any standard USB outlet. When the LED indicator changes from red to green, you will know that the battery is at its maximum capacity. It doesn’t take long.

Hardware specifications

• Size (main unit): 100 x 23 x 8.3mm
• Weight < 1.23 oz (with battery)
• ECG Lead Type: Single Lead ECG
• Input impedance: ≥10MΩ, 10Hz
• Frequency response: 0/67 – 40Hz
• Linearity and dynamic range: 10 mV (peak to valley)
• Gain error: Maximum error ±10%
• Battery type: rechargeable lithium battery
• Battery life: 72 hours (fully charged)
• Charging time (2 hours (up to 90% power)
• Sealing: IP22
• Storage: 10 individual ECG sessions or 30 hours of data

Wellue Heart Health Monitor Review: Feature

• For use with chest strap or adhesive patches
• Captures 14 different ECG abnormalities
• No Bluetooth or Wi-Fi is required
• Excellent PC and Mac software
• Limited use smartphone app

Installation and first use

The highlight of this product for me is its ease of use. Simply tighten the strap around your chest and attach the main unit to the pins – the end with the letter R should go on the right side. A small vibration accompanied by the flashing green light will let you know that recording has started. Before that, you’ll want to wet the plastic strip inside the strap a bit. This helps ensure that a good signal is picked up right from the start.

The other option is to use the included patches to secure the device to your chest. Just make sure they are positioned at a 45 degree angle. These are single use disposable patches and your purchase gets you 10 in a box. You also have the option of getting a box of extra patches – a pack of 60 costs $29.

I’ve tried both ways of wearing it and I have to say I prefer the chest strap. It is easier to put on and take off. Once it is attached to the chest, you don’t feel anything and it doesn’t bother you at all.

And while it doesn’t feel as secure while you sleep, I ultimately found it captured uninterrupted sessions most of the time. With typical throws and flips, it is possible to hit the main unit. This starts a new session each time. I found that while this usually didn’t happen to me with the chest strap option, it did sometimes happen with the patches. Also, when you remove the stickers, they leave a red mark on your skin and it takes about a day for the rash to disappear.

You’ll be happy to know that nothing is transmitted to the outside world, so no Bluetooth or WiFi is required. And the device will keep recording your signal continuously until you delete it.

Another option, which I didn’t really find very useful, is to rest your fingers on the electrodes. This is for quick checking and works with the smartphone app. But the signal quality isn’t as good, so I found it to be of limited use.

Smartphone app shows live feed of ECG and heart rate

The heart health monitor comes with computer and smartphone software to help screen you for heart problems. Starting with the weakest part of the system – the iOS and Android smartphone app.

Like some other Wellue products, you are supposed to use the ViHealth app. Pair your heart health monitor with the smartphone, clip it to your chest and it will automatically start streaming data to the smartphone screen.

Below the live data of your heart rate and EKG session waveform, you will see a small “Record ECG” button. This allows you to capture and save your session details. The maximum recording time is 30 minutes.

You also have the option to access a history log and view all individual recordings. Additionally, you can export ECG readings in PDF format. But that’s where the functionality ends. No analysis is provided, so you are left to draw conclusions on your own.

PC, MAC software makes this product what it is

The smartphone app can be useful for a quick check, but its use is limited because it lacks the in-depth AI analysis of PC and Mac software. What is the part of the system that makes this product what it is. After all, ECG recordings without analysis are of limited use.

The way it works is that you download and install the software on your computer. Then, each time you connect the heart health monitor to your computer (via the USB power cable), you will have the option to download the recently captured ECG data. This is submitted to the cloud for analysis and 20-30 minutes later a report will be ready with your results. Motion artifacts are filtered out in the analysis.

When you think about it, in a full day, the device captures hundreds of thousands of data points that would be impossible to manually assess as a whole. The IA part is therefore an absolute necessity.

As mentioned, the AI ​​ECG device and algorithm can pick up many different events. This includes sinus rhythm, ectopic rhythm, sinus tachycardia, sinus bradycardia, PAC (premature supraventricular contraction), PVC (premature ventricular contraction), PAC couplet, PVC couplet, Bigeminy PAC, PVC Bigeminy, PAC Trigeminy, PVC Trigeminy, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and heart rate variability (HRV).

The report is in an easy to digest format. It reports irregularities in the ECG in the form of a summary with conclusions. You can navigate to the exact spot on the ECG where a disordered heart rhythm occurred via the navigation panel on the left.

The software also lists hourly data in tabular form quantifying when and where something was found along with the number of events. Of course, you also get the actual ECG waveform. All this can be exported in PDF format and shared with the doctor or his relatives.

There really is a lot of information to sink your teeth into. However, something on my wishlist would be more detailed explanations. Not all of us are qualified doctors, so you end up googling to understand certain terms. But don’t be surprised if you find some kind of anomaly. A prolonged test is related to at least something minor. It’s normal.

Routine ECG/EKG exams at your doctor’s usually take a few minutes. This can make it difficult to manage heart problems. After all, ECG events can be sporadic and transient in nature. Hence the advantage of longer readings and the usefulness of this device.

Data quality

Regarding data quality, I can guarantee that the heart rate information is accurate and the device provides stable quality of recordings. The accuracy of ECG and AI analysis, on the other hand, you have to trust. There is no way for me to fully gauge this accuracy.

In my case, I tried it in various usage scenarios. For the most part, he found nothing wrong, only picking up on minor issues. That’s what I expected. Here is an example of my results from a 9 hour monitoring session.

This is the detailed five-page report. Click thumb to open.

I have also lent the device to someone with a known ECG abnormality – Afib, taking medication for the condition. And during a five-and-a-half-hour recording session, the heart health monitor identified, recorded and mapped a total of 632 cases of Afib. That’s how detailed the data is!

Here is the full report.

Also worth mentioning are the studies on the Wellue website illustrating the suitability of using a single-lead ECG recorder to detect cardiac arrhythmias in patients referred for dynamic ECG monitoring. You can learn more about this link.

Wellue Heart Health Monitor Review: In the End, Is It Worth It?

Wellue Heart Health Monitor is a smart little device that provides information similar to a traditional Holter monitor. But it is easier to use and less expensive. It allows you to take tests at your convenience without having to schedule doctor appointments. A way to perform preliminary analysis for arrhythmia and other heart abnormalities from the comfort of your home.

The device itself is very lightweight and offers multiple ways to attach to your chest. Once positioned, you really don’t feel like you’re wearing it.

A highlight of this product is the PC and Mac software. AI ECG analysis provides a wealth of information about your heart health, including heart activity (heart rate, arrhythmias, HRV parameters), as well as details of any individual irregularities. The signal shape of a single-channel ECG is fully recorded. Of course, the accuracy will never be as high as a clinical-grade device, but it’s good enough for the purpose. Wellue also sells a 12-lead Holter monitor (use coupon GW10 for a 10% discount), which has medical-grade accuracy and works with AI analytics.

And while the PC and Mac software is pretty good, the smartphone app is pretty straightforward. Maybe something that will be updated with future software updates.

Is the Wellue Heart Health Monitor really something someone without a known heart condition needs? Maybe not. But I would recommend it to those with pre-existing conditions or those who want an additional way to keep tabs on their family’s health.

Finally, it should be emphasized that this is not a medical device and is not intended to replace Holter clinical monitoring. Think of it as a convenient way to record your heart rate for extended periods and identify potential conditions – whenever you feel the need.

Wellue Heart Health Monitor usually sells for $299 on getwellue.com (use coupon GW10 for a 10% discount).