Regardless of your age, it's important to be smart and proactive about heart health. Looking after your heart is crucial for many reasons, including preventing cardiovascular disease, maintaining cholesterol and blood pressure levels, reducing feelings of depression, and lowering your risk of developing dementia.
With many smartwatches and fitness trackers often coming with a hefty price tag, the Cardiio: Heart Rate Monitor app enables users to examine their heartbeat using just their smartphone or tablet.
So, how does it work? Simply put, the blood absorbs light. With every beat of your heart, the blood flow to the skin's surface increases, resulting in more light being absorbed. The slower the heartbeat, the slower the blood flow, which means less light is absorbed.
By using your device's camera, the app detects the user's pulse (heart rate) by scanning the finger, which captures the minuscule changes in reflected light and measures blood flow. The results can enable you to assess your general wellness, receive details on how to improve your heart health, monitor fitness and endurance, and track your ongoing progress.
The Cardiio: Heart Rate Monitor also provides high-intensity, high-impact 7-minute circuit training exercises, the ability to sync with your Apple Health app, a personalized dashboard, and the facility to save, edit and export your data.
The Cardiio: Heart Rate Monitor app is free to download on iPhone and Android and offers in-app purchases, ranging from $1.99 - $9.99 and the option to upgrade to Pro.