Need to find your heart rate? Try Instant Heart Rate [iPhone]

Instant Heart Rate is a heart rate measurement tool for your iOS device. The app works the same as a medical pulse oximeter by detecting the pulse in your fingertip. This is accomplished by tracking color changes on the surface of your fingertip, which changes every time your heart beats and new blood flows through. The developer suggests placing the tip of your index finger on the camera lens of your phone and holding it steady, below the level of your heart for at least 10 seconds. He also suggested you don’t push too hard on the lens, don’t move around a lot, avoid using a cold finger, and take the measurement in good lighting. Instant Heart Rate will show an EKG-like graph (with sound if you choose) on the display as your heart rate is being taken. The app will also store your measurements and provides the option to share to Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Truthfully, I was quite skeptical about the concept of this app. I would have normally passed it over, but I noticed the large number of ratings that were mostly 5 star. I have a slightly low resting blood pressure, so when I tried it and my usual BPM measurement came up, I was astonished and impressed. Instant Heart Rate also provides push notifications for patients who need to take a measurement every day, which I found to be a smart addition to the app.

Price: $0.99

Version discovered: 2.7.6