When receiving one's medical degree, all doctors take a Hippocratic Oath to care for all patients to the best of their ability. This includes everyone from the youngest pre-mature infant to the oldest in geriatric care. During every stage of life, it is important for the physician to be able to fully advise the patient as to the right behaviors and lifestyles into which he should engage. For most, this includes a recommendation to get some exercise, especially of the cardiovascular type, but there is an optimal heart rate that should be reached for cardiovascular exercise to be most efficient. This must be measured during activity with a fitness heart rate monitors since it would be impractical to try to use a stethoscope.

With a fitness heart rate monitors, the patient can keep track of his heart rate and report the results back to his physician. Then, the doctor will be able to determine if the patient is putting enough exertion into his exercise regime. While optimal and maximum heart rates during aerobic activity are best found out in the office of an exercise physiologist, the patient can still get a workable estimate by using a simple formula. In order to find out how efficient his exercise regime is, the patient compares the readout from the fitness heart rate monitors to a percentage of his maximum heart rate. By subtracting his age from 220, the patient can get an estimate of the highest his pulse should go during exercise. If he then takes that number and finds 75% to 85% of it, he will get his pulse during vigorous exercise. 65% to 75% of his maximum is ideal for the moderate pace of activity most physicians recommend. Below that, the patient should be warming up or cooling down to prepare for activity. The formula, though, is merely an estimate for the patient, and he should always consult with his physician to verify its accuracy.

Fitness heart rate monitors are simple to use for most lay people. Most of them have a band that is worn around the chest and a watch-like device that displays the pulse during activity. A physician might even use one of these portable models for a stress test in the office, although, larger, more-accurate fitness heart rate monitors are preferable in those instances. The portable version is the one with which a patient is most likely to cooperate. Patient fitness heart rate monitors are smaller, easier to use, cheaper, and likely to be worn more often during exercise. The more frequently a patient wears his monitor, the greater the pool of data from which the doctor can glean information about the patient's health.

The ultimate goal of a fitness heart rate monitors is to gather as much data as possible. Results gathered by the heart rate monitor will vary throughout the day based on one's activities. Therefore, for a thorough analysis, the heart fitness rate monitor should be used continuously over a period of several days. More data lessens the chances of errors, making the information more accurate. This allows the physician to best advise the patient in the areas of exercise and lifestyles.