Abstract: The invention relates to heart measurement and heart monitoring, in particular the measurement of mechanical heart activity, and includes a method and apparatus to using doppler radar to transmit an electromagnetic signal of a certain frequency into, and detect a reflected signal from out of, the chest of the individual, to processing the detected signal to produce an output signal representing the rate of change of the doppler signal associated with the reflected signal and to identify from the output signal a group of at least one characteristic point of the output signal, and further to calculate at least one parameter representative of heart activity, this calculation based on the at least one identified characteristic point. The apparatus provides a system for monitoring which is particularly suitable for use in the home and which does not require repeated use of impedance cardiograms which are inappropriate for use by untrained personnel.