Helpful MS Apps: Cardiograph

 OK, so at first I did not believe this. Cardiograph: an app that somehow checks your pulse (BPM - Beat Per Minute) with your phone/tablet. So I tried it. I placed my finger over the camera, let the flash's light shine through my finger, and what do you know, my pulse showed up on my screen! It must be fake, it's just for fun, right? Nope. I checked my pulse the old fashioned way, counted the number of times I felt my pulses in 10 seconds and then multiplied that by 6, and it was the same as what my phone said. I have no clue how this works, I have tried looking it up with no luck, things is, it does work.

The tricky part is learning how to place your finger over you camera just right so that it gets a good read. There is a meter on the dashboard shaped like a heart and the closer to full it is the better your finger placement is which means a more accurate read! Once you press stop it displays your pulse, I am guessing it is an average of your pulse rates over the total time you checked it. I am sure it is not as accurate as an actual hospital machine but for a smart phone app it is pretty accurate. Of course the app itself displays a disclaimer that the app "is not a medical device" and you should "consult your physician" which I guess goes without saying... kind of... Either way I can use this to see if stress is making my heart race or if I have truly calmed down or what ever! Sometimes, for what ever reason, I feel like my heart is racing and with this I can check it out! At the least, it is just fun and worth checking out!

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