TRAINING VIDEOS AND
TRAINING INFORMATION
FOR THE CARDIO WAVE ANALYZER

4 Minute Overview Video

TRAINING VIDEO NUMBER 1. SETUP AND ARTERIAL REPORT

TRAINING VIDEO NUMBER 2. ANS (STRESS) REPORT

Performing the Test

  • The temperature of a room should be comfortable. If the clinic is kept cold or the climate is cold, then pay attention to make sure that the patient is warmed up before the test and does not have cold hands. Keep in mind that the device is using the volume of blood at the fingertip to track the heart and arteries. If the hands are cold, circulation to the fingertips can be too low for an accurate reading. (Disposable hand warmers can kept available in case of cold hands).
  • For most accurate results, do not perform the test if the patient has recently taken caffeine. Do not let the patient smoke before the test. It is important not to test directly after a full meal. For most accurate results, the test should be done on an empty stomach or mostly empty stomach (digestion can cause the body to tighten outer arteries and push blood to the internal organs and after a full meal this can result in significant fluctuations in score).
  • Attach the finger clip lightly to the left index finger, making sure the clip is fully seated onto the finger. Make sure the finger clip is not being squeezed. There should be no pressure on the clip. For example a person who tucks their hands under their thighs will get an inaccurate readings. The hand should be approximately at heart level or a little below heart level, resting comfortably, for example on a table top or on a pillow in the lap.
  • The patient should not move or talk and should keep their eyes open during the test. The patient should breathe normally during the test. The patient should not meditate or try to influence the test

 

 IMPORTANT- Detecting Invalid Test Results

Important: Cold hands on the patient are the most common problem with the Cardio Wave Analyzer Test.

When the CardioWA is not reading the patient its normally caused by cold hands, patient moving or talking, or patient has an irregular heartbeat that prevents the CardioWA from getting a clean reading. 

An Inaccurate or Invalid Test Can Be Seen in a Number of Ways.

Seeing an Invalid Test in the Arterial Part of the Test

While the test is running you can often tell just by looking at the PTG graph that the patient is not reading properly (likely cold hands) – the PTG graph will show one or more of the following

  • PTG graph coarse and saw toothed.
  • PTG graph completely flatlined
  • Heart rate showing impossibly high or low

Then after the arterial test has completed you can see the invalid test in the Arterial Type percentage scores. If the machine cannot read the heart beats clearly you will see that the dominant Arterial Type score is less than 50%. (Dominant arterial type is always more than 50% of the heart beats in accurate tests). In such cases where the machine cannot get a clean reading you will see the Arterial Type spread over 3-4 different types.

Its not unusual for patients to have a dominant Arterial Type and a sub-dominant arterial type. For Example Type 4 60% and Type 5 40% is or some version of that is common enough.

An invalid test will show something like Type 2= 23%, Type 4 =37% and Type 5= 30%. That means that machine can’t read the patient.

All these things normally indicate that the finger clip cannot read the patients finger. Warm up the hands and any of these issues that are present will disappear as long as the patient is performing the test according to the rules, sitting normally, breathing normally, awake and not moving or talking.

Seeing an Invalid Test in the ANS part of the Test

Ectopic Beats: The ANS test will show the number of ectopic beats on the report. If you have more than 5 ectopic beats you must perform the test again. Check that the patient has warm hands with good circulation and stay with the patient and make sure they are not moving or talking during the test and that they are not sleeping or deliberately altering their breathing. If the second test shows more than 5 ectopic beats the results cannot be considered accurate. The patient has an arrhythmia and you must address this first. When a patients heart is not able to beat in a steady and normal manner, it is not possible to accurately test them using the arterial pulse wave. The out-of-kilter heart beat will throw off the result. An arrhythmia can be caused by something as simple as the patient drinking too much coffee. You will need to investigate and handle the arrhythmia first.

Caffeine in coffee and energy drinks, alcohol, smoking and tiredness or disturbed sleep are the common causes of ectopic heartbeats. Often patients will immediately improve once they cease the stimulants and start sleeping better.  (Hormonal changes such as those seen in pregnancy or during the menopause may also cause ventricular ectopics. Occasionally viral infections of the lining of the heart may cause ectopics.)

VASCULAR AGE OF ARTERIES

We feel it is incorrect use of the CardioWA to assign lower scores to the aging process. We have seen healthy arterial scores in older people, even passing scores in individuals in their 70’s. To say that age always causes severe arterial degradation and its “expected” is not what we have seen. Based on our experience with testing a wide range of people here in the USA, we see the following. Type 1 is a score only seen in people up to age of early 20’s or people up to 30 with extremely good vascular health. Type 2 is seen in people aged 30 and above all the way up to their 70’s (for very fit people) but certainly should be seen in people all the way up to age late 60’s. Type 2 is a passing score and it is possible to have this score later in life. Type 3 is a passing score, but is unique in that it represents a fatigued heart that is beating with less that acceptable strength. A small amount edema might be seen. Type 3 can be some form of physical exhaustion or it can be very early congestive heart failure. Type 4 is the first level of failing the test and is the very first level where arterial flexibility has declined. It is seen in people  late 60’s and upwards. People of any age should never go lower than a Type 2, but it gets harder and harder to hold a type 2 as people move into and through their 60’s. People over 70 often can’t get enough exercise to hold a type 2 and will fall to a type 4.  Type 4 is the first stage of arterial hardening and is in most cases reversible (especially in younger and middle aged patients). We have seen Type 4 moved back to Type 2 in patients all the way into their late 60s with weight loss and exercise. A person scoring Type 4, no matter what age, should be actively trying to reverse that with good diet and exercise. If a person has a completely healthy weight and diet and life-style, Type 4 can be considered normal for patients in their mid 60’s and upwards.
Type 3 and Type 5 only show when the patient has a weakened heart beat. That is always some level of fatigue or dysfunction and it should always be addressed in any patient no matter what age. Type 5 show significant heart weakening and is almost always accompanied by edema. Type 5 patients should see a specialist to get more information on the cause of the weakened heartbeat. 
Type 6 is very serious arterial hardening – heart attack or stroke potential and should always be treated seriously no matter what age.
Type 7 is extremely serious arterial and heart disfunction and should be treated extremely seriously at any age. 

Please see the written manual for more information on all aspects of CardioWA Testing. Note that the Cardio Wave Analyzer is an informational tool, giving a unique insight into patient cardio health. Diagnosis must be done by a qualified medical practitioner. 

 

THE SOFTWARE SET UP WINDOW

(Last option on the Main Menu)

Language: You may select a user interface language.

Test Time: You may select a longer test time for the Stress Test (5 Minutes). The longer test period will give a more accurate result. Note that the arterial test time cannot be changed and is always 1 minute.

Reference Type: The machine has two calibrations, one for Eastern populations and one for Western Populations.

User Name: You May Enter Your Practice Name

Telephone: You May Enter Your Phone Number

Printing Options: If you have version 6.0 of the Software or higher, you will have the option to print or save an image of the report.

In these versions of the Software, if you go to the Set Up Menu, you will see at the bottom of the page 2 check boxes. One is called print and the other is called Image. This allows you to set the default for when you print a report.
Print Check Box– Sends a printed report to the Windows default printer.
Image Check Box – Will save an image of the report onto the hard drive. The folder where the image is saved (with the name of the patient and the date) is on the C drive> MEDICORE>CARDIOWA_GENERAL> IMAGE. When using this it would be ideal to save a shortcut to that folder on the desktop.
Those same two options appear each time you print. You can check them or uncheck them depending on if you want to print, save an image, or both.
Printer: Select the default printer for printing reports.
Excel: Export Function to Export Test Information.

Not Shown: Turn Pre-Prepared Comments On of Off

The printed reports can show a pre-printed comments section with generic comments. These can be turned on or off at the set up screen.

Press F8 to remove the comments. You will see this message: “Result Comment User Input Mode”

Press  F9 to turn them on. You will see this message.

“Result Comment Automatic Input Mode”

Replacement Parts

To purchase a replacement finger unit please visit this link
​If you have lost the power supply, you can order one on Amazon here-
https://www.amazon.com/SoulBay-Adapter-Replacement-Regulated-Certificate/dp/B07C75RT38
If you have lost the the silver wire that connects the laptop to the CardioWA then you can get one here
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H8HDS2K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title