Types Of Heart Rate Monitors

A heart rate monitor allows a person to measure his or her heart rate. People who use heart rate monitors are those who engage in cardiovascular workouts, are dieting, or are trying to live a healthy and active lifestyle. The following information describes the two main categories of heart rate monitors: wireless and strapless heart rate monitors.

Wireless Heart Rate Monitors

This type of monitor is made up of a chest strap and wrist watch. The chest strap is attached to a person’s chest and detects the heart’s electrical activities via two electrodes that touch the skin. The strap sends the electrical activity information to the wrist watch, which then calculates and displays the person’s current heart rate.

Analogue wireless heart rate monitors work the same way as regular wireless heart rate monitors, but there is no wrist watch involved. Instead, the chest strap sends signals to the specific gym equipment being used, such as a treadmill. Most modern gym equipment can pick up wireless signals from any heart rate monitor chest strap and display the person’s heart rate on its own screen. This is the most popular heart rate monitor used. However, if other analogue heart rate monitors are close by, there is a risk of cross signaling and a slightly inaccurate heart rate being displayed.

Digital wireless heart rate monitors also work similarly to regular wireless heart rate monitors. The difference is that the digital wrist watch is programmed to only accept signals from its matching chest strap, eliminating any risk of cross signaling. However, this also means the chest strap can only transmit messages to the watch and not to any other gym equipment the owner might want to use.

Strapless Heart Rate Monitors

Strapless heart rate monitors only consist of a wrist watch. The watch measures a person’s heart rate when he or she places their fingers on special sensors attached to the watch. This heart rate monitor is less popular because it often requires users to stop their physical activity to measure their heart rate, whereas wireless heart rate monitors continuously display heart rate related information. In addition, strapless monitors only show a person’s heart rate at a given time. Wireless monitors can also calculate average, maximum, and minimum heart rates.

Heart rate monitors without chest straps can be measured in two different ways. The first measures a person’s heart rate by calculating his or her electrical impulses. The second uses optical sensors to count the pulses going through a person’s blood vessels. This second type is considered less accurate than heart rate monitors that utilize electrical impulses and are, consequently, cheaper to buy.