To fully use your HELO you need to understand basic heart function, physiology and even some basic ECG knowlege. This presentation should help all HELO users.

1. UNDERSTANDING YOUR HEART HEALTH WITH YOUR
HELO
DR ALAN TEH
http://palmdoc.net

2. THE HELO AND YOUR HEART
▪A powerful tool to keep
track of heart health
▪Monitors round the clock:
1. Blood pressure
2. Heart Rate
▪Check the ECG on demand

3. BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE HEART
▪STRUCTURE
▪FUNCTION

4. STRUCTURE
• 4 chambers, 2
on each side
• ATRIA (pleural
for atrium) – left
and right
• Ventricles – left
and right
Right
Atrium
Right
Ventricle
Left
Atrium
Left
Ventricle
Aorta
pulmonary artery

5. FUNCTION
• Unoxygenated blood from veins
flows into RA
• RA pumps blood into RV
• RV pumps blood to lungs
(where blood is oxygenated)
• Oxygenated blood returns to LA
• LA pumps oxygenated blood to
LV
• LV pumps oxygenated blood to
rest of body
Right
Atrium
Right
Ventricle
Left
Atrium
Left
Ventricle
Aorta
pulmonary artery

6. FUNCTION
The heart contracts in
sequence:
RA and LA contracts first
Then
RV and LV contracts
The sequence is controlled by
an internal electrical circuitry
(conducting system)
controlled by a pacemaker
(sino atrial node)
Right
Atrium
Right
Ventricle
Left
Atrium
Left
Ventricle
Aorta
pulmonary artery

7. BLOOD PRESSURE
• Systolic pressure is when
the ventricles contract
- this is the “top number”
• Diastolic pressure is
when the ventricles are
relaxed
- this is the “bottom
number”

8. WHAT IS NORMAL BLOOD PRESSURE?
An average reading for a
normal adult is about
120/80 mmHg
In adults the ideal BP is a
Systolic reading between
90 – 120 and a Diastolic
reading between 60 – 80

9. WHAT IS HYPERTENSION?
Hypertension or High Blood
pressure is when the BP is
persistently above 140/90 and is
an important risk factor for
stroke and heart attack
If the BP is only sometimes
high, this could be a labile blood
pressure, elevated during a visit
to a doctor, emotional stress or
exercise and not true
Hypertension. Labile BP is
usually not clinically significant.

10. HOW CAN THE HELO HELP WITH BP?
• By charting your BP round the clock,
the HELO is an “ambulatory BP
monitor” and the trend can help
determine if elevated BP is true
Hypertension or just labile blood
pressure
• For those with Hypertension, it will
help determine if your BP is well
controlled
• Please note that the HELO needs to be
properly calibrated before first use
(and after each hard reset or firmware
update) for each individual using a
proper blood pressure set (best done
at your doctor’s office)

11. HEART RATE
The HELO is a convenient tool to measure on-
demand and also track your heart rate around
the clock as opposed to manually checking
your pulse rate
Normal Resting Heart Rate varies with age and
degree of physical fitness but for adults is 60-
100 and more usually between 50-80 beats
per minute (bpm). Athletes and the very fit
tend to have lower resting heart rates.

12. HEART RATE
Fast heart rate is called Tachycardia (>100 bpm)
and can be due to
- exercise, stress or fright
- fever
- anaemia
- drugs and medication
- alcohol
- heart disease including heart rhythm disorders
- hyperthyroidism
Slow heart rate is called Bradycardia (<60 bpm)
and can be due to
- athlete’s heart
- drugs and medication
- heart disease including heart rhythm disorders
- hypothyroidism

13. HEART RATE
Abnormalities in heart rate,
especially in combination with
symptoms like:
- chest pain
- shortness of breath
- feeling dizzy or faint
- palpitations
could indicate a serious heart
disorder and should prompt one
to seek medical attention
immediately

14. UNDERSTANDING THE ECG
(aka EKG IN USA )
This is a tool used by doctors to measure the
rate and rhythm of the heart, as well as
provide indirect evidence of blood flow to the
heart muscle.
A standardized system has been developed
for the electrode placement for a
routine ECG.
Ten electrodes are needed to produce 12
electrical views of the heart:
Limb Leads I, II, III
Augmented Limb Leads aVR, aVL and aVF
Chest leads V1 to V6
The HELO ECG function is in effect a lead I
measuring the voltage between the Left Arm
and Right Arm

15. UNDERSTANDING THE ECG
The normal electrical pattern measured the ECG is:
P wave (measures atrial activity)
QRS wave (measures ventricular depolarization or contraction)
T wave (measures ventricular repolarization or recovery)
The normal heart rhythm is called Sinus Rhythm.
Abnormal heart rhythms are called Arrhythmias
Fast heart rates (tachycardia), can be due to
Sinus tachycardia
Supra ventricular tachycardia (SVT)
Atrial fibrillation
Ventricular Tachycardia (VT)
Slow heart rates (bradycardia) can be due to
Sinus bradycardia
Various types of Heart block
Irregular heart rhythms can be due to
Atrial fibrillation
Extra beats (ventricular or supra-ventricular ectopics)

16. EXAMPLES OF ECG PATTERNS
Normal Sinus Rhythm
Atrial fibrillation Supra ventricular Tachycardia Ventricular Tachycardia
Ventricular ectopics (extra beats or PVCs) Complete heart block

17. CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO
The HELO works like a single limb
lead (lead I measuring the voltages
between the right arm and left arm)
With it, one can assess further the
heart rate and rhythm
The video on the left demonstrates
ECG measurement with the HELO
It is important to place your index
finger on the ECG plate and be
steady. If there is too much
movement the ECG reading will be
“noisy” and not accurate

18. CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO
The ECG can also be checked
together with the Heart rate and
Blood pressure in the single step
Heart Check
Please note that the ECG recording
does not come on till about the 84
second countdown mark
The video on the left shows how
the Heart check with the HELO is
conducted

19. CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO
Note that 30 days worth of ECG
recordings are stored in your
device.
To access ECG recordings to
playback (e.g. to show your doctor),
visit My Report, tap on ECG, then
tap LIST to display the previous
recordings.
If you tap on any of the items in the
list, you can playback the ECG
recorded at that day and time

20. CHECKING ECG WITH THE HELO
By now you should appreciate what
a normal ECG pattern looks like.
I have encountered users
experiencing problems with the
HELO in that sometimes abnormal
patterns are reported as OK or
“Normal” by the HELO.
If your ECG is not recording
properly, make sure you have
updated to the latest firmware and
companion app versions and try a
hard reset (8 sec press) .
If all fails, contact World support as
there may be a hardware problem
with your HELO.
This is a reasonable
ECG recording
showing sinus
rhythm with a
discernible P and
QRS pattern . Not
bad for a consumer
grade device.
This is a very poor
recording which
looks more like
Ventricular
tachycardia than
sinus rhythm. It is
certainly not OK
and not normal.

21. CONCLUSIONS
▪ I personally find the HELO is a useful tool for consumers to monitor their heart
health
▪ With it you can track your heart rate, rhythm and blood pressure round the clock
▪ This presentation will hopefully help you understand and interpret the findings as
you use your HELO in your daily life
▪ If you appreciate the presentation, please visit my blog at:
http://palmdoc.net for reviews on the HELO and other mobile tech info
links to my Facebook page and Twitter feed are in the blog.
Feel free to ask questions in my Facebook page or tweet me @palmdoc