Cardiac Event Monitoring

Cardiac Event Monitoring is a diagnostic test used to capture heart rhythm abnormalities that occur sporadically or infrequently. Unlike a routine electrocardiogram (EKG) that provides a brief snapshot of your heart’s activity, a cardiac event monitoring study is conducted over an extended period, typically 30 days. This prolonged monitoring period allows your cardiologist to capture your heart’s activity over an extended period, which may help detect heart rhythm abnormalities that may be missed with other cardiac monitoring tools.

During a cardiac event monitoring study, you will wear a small, pager-sized device that records your heart’s electrical activity. If you experience any symptoms like palpitations, dizziness, or shortness of breath, you will press an “Event Button” on the device to indicate an abnormality. This will trigger the device to record and save the ECG information, which will be transmitted wirelessly to a remote monitoring center staffed by cardiac technicians and nurses. The remote monitoring center will then analyze the ECG data and provide a report to your cardiologist, who will review it and make a diagnosis.

There are various types of cardiac event monitoring technologies available, including:

1. Patient-Activated Symptomatic Cardiac Event Monitor: This type of monitor is the most commonly used device for cardiac event monitoring. It requires the patient to press an “Event Button” when experiencing symptoms, and the device will record and save the ECG data for review.
2. Automatic Trigger/Auto-Detect Cardiac Event Monitor: This type of device automatically detects any abnormal heart rhythm and records the ECG data without the need for patient intervention.
3. Post-Event Cardiac Event Monitor: This type of monitor is useful for patients who experience infrequent symptoms. After experiencing symptoms, the patient can use the device to record and save the ECG data.
4. Mobile Cardiac Telemetry (MCT): MCT is a newer technology that provides real-time ECG monitoring and automatically detects any abnormal heart rhythm. It also has the capability to transmit the data via cellular phone technology to a remote monitoring center for analysis.
5. Implantable Cardiac Event Monitor (ICM): This type of monitor is implanted under the skin and is useful for long-term monitoring of patients at high risk of cardiac events. The device records and stores ECG data, which can be remotely downloaded and analyzed by the physician.

In summary, a cardiac event monitoring study is a useful tool for diagnosing heart rhythm abnormalities that occur infrequently. It allows your cardiologist to capture your heart’s activity over an extended period, which may help detect heart rhythm abnormalities that may be missed with other cardiac monitoring tools.