Many people feel intermittent heart palpitations, often described as racing, pounding, skipping, jumping or feelings of slow beats with pauses. These can be both bothersome and frightening. It is important to find out the cause of these palpitations to prevent serious problems.
Several types of monitors are available to check your heart rhythm. Here are some of them:
Holter monitor: This monitor is worn for 24 hours and it allows us to see every heartbeat during that time. It is very helpful to wear this monitor when you feel palpitations every day.
Event monitor: These are worn when your palpitations do not happen every day. Event monitors can be worn for up to 30 days. They will automatically record abnormal heart rhythms. You will also be able to “press a button” when you feel symptoms so we can see what your rhythm is at that exact time.
Insertable event monitor: This tiny monitor is placed just under the skin of your chest. It's used when you have infrequent unexplained episodes of fainting or if you need prolonged heart monitoring. It has a home unit to provide wireless remote monitoring over a secure internet connection. This monitor will work for approximately three years.
“Smart” devices: Several products available commercially can be used on your own to share the information with us. Smartphone applications and smart watches have many fitness tracking and health oriented capabilities. You can use these to monitor your heart rate or even record your heart rhythm when you have symptoms. We can help you decide which ones are high quality and proven to work.
Remote Monitoring of Cardiac Devices
Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can send information to a monitor in your home. This information is sent to our office over a very secure network. This one-way communication allows our staff to check your heart rhythm and the function of your device between office visits. Remote device checks are programmed to occur on a regular basis depending on your needs. This check is equivalent to your in-person check in the office. In addition, the monitor can send us information if an alert condition exists such as a serious abnormal heart rhythm or a change in the functioning of your device.
Remote monitoring is very convenient and reduces the need for in-office visits. It has proven to provide early detection of abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. Most importantly, it has been shown to save lives.
A Miniature Insertable Cardiac Monitor
The Reveal Linq Insertable Cardiac Monitor (ICM) is the smallest implantable cardiac monitor available to patients. This miniature implantable cardiac rhythm monitoring device can be implanted under the skin within a few minutes under local anesthesia.
The Reveal Linq ICM is approximately one-third the size of a AAA battery, or more than 80 percent smaller than other ICMs. The device is part of a system that allows physicians to continuously and wirelessly monitor a patient’s heart for up to three years, with 20 percent more data memory than its larger predecessor, the Reveal XT.
The system provides remote monitoring through the CarelinkNetwork in which physicians can request notifications to alert them if their patients have cardiac events. The Reveal Linq ICM is indicated for patients who experience symptoms such as dizziness, palpitation, syncope and chest pain that may suggest a cardiac arrhythmia, and for patients at increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias.
Placed just beneath the skin through a small incision of less than 1 cm in the upper left side of the chest, the Reveal Linq ICM is often nearly invisible to the naked eye once inserted. The device is placed using a minimally invasive insertion procedure, which simplifies the experience for both physicians and their patients. The Reveal Linq ICM is MR-Conditional, allowing patients to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if needed.
The Reveal Linq system also includes the new MyCareLink Patient Monitor. That is a simplified remote monitoring system with global cellular technology that transmits patients’ cardiac device diagnostic data to their clinicians from nearly any location in the world.