Cardiac Event Monitor (Heart Monitor)

What is a heart monitor?

A heart monitor is a small device you wear or carry that records your heart rate and rhythm for your provider to review. Heart monitor devices can collect the same information as an electrocardiogram (EKG), but they’re smaller than a deck of playing cards. As you can have this battery-powered device with you for up to a month, it’s good for recording abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) that don’t happen every day.

Types of heart monitors

• Patch recorder: This is good for two weeks of nonstop monitoring. It has everything contained in one unit (patch) that sticks to your chest.
• Symptom event monitor: You stick the sensors on your skin and turn the device on when you have symptoms.
• Loop memory monitor: You keep the sensors on and start the device when you have symptoms. It can record your EKG (your heart’s electrical activity) while symptoms are happening, but also a minute or two before and after they start.
• Implanted loop recorders: This multi-year option is the only type that goes under your skin.

When is a heart monitor used?

Your healthcare provider will ask you to use a cardiac event monitor if you’re having symptoms that don’t happen that often, like once a week or once a month. Think of it like this: When your car is making a sound that concerns you, it might not make that sound when you take it to the mechanic. In a similar way, your heart may not have an abnormal rhythm during your appointment with your provider.

A device that records your heart’s rhythm when you’re having symptoms is valuable. It allows your provider to review the recording and make a diagnosis.

Your provider can use the information from a heart monitor device when:

• You fainted, had chest pain or got dizzy.
• You had palpitations (a racing or pounding heartbeat).
• You had a heart attack or stroke.
• They want to know if enough oxygen is reaching your heart.
• They want to see if the medicine you’re taking is helping.
• They want to assess how often your heart stays in an abnormal rhythm.
• They want to know if your pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is working right.
• You’re at risk for an arrhythmia.

What will a heart monitor detect?

A cardiac event monitor can give your provider information that answers questions like:

• Does your heart have a steady or an irregular rhythm?
• How strong are your heart’s electrical signals?
• Do your heart’s electrical signals have normal timing?
• How fast is your heart beating?

How does a heart monitor work?

Here’s how a heart monitor works:

1. Sensors on your chest will pick up your heart rhythms.
2. The sensors will send your heart rhythms through wires (or wirelessly) to your cardiac monitor device.
3. Your heart monitor will record your heart rhythms.
4. You’ll send (transmit) this information to your healthcare provider through a phone or computer.
5. Your provider will review your data and look for any abnormal heart rhythms.
6. If your provider sees an arrhythmia that’s a concern, they may call you and ask you what symptoms you’re having. They may also ask you to come in for a checkup so they can evaluate you.

What to expect before using a heart monitor

If you’re getting a heart monitor that sticks to your skin, your provider will:

1. Shave chest hair that’s in the way of where a sensor will go.
2. Clean and prepare your skin for the sensors. The plastic strips won’t stay on if your skin is oily or sweaty.
3. Attach several sensors to the skin on your chest with sticky strips of plastic. (Be sure to let your provider know if you’re allergic to the adhesive they’re using.)
4. Give you a supply of sensors so you can switch them out with new ones. Your provider will tell you how often to replace them and where they should go. They’ll also give you instructions on how to bathe with the device.

For some heart monitors, you don’t need to stick sensors on your chest. You just wear the monitor on one of your wrists or hold it up to your chest.

What to expect during a heart monitor test

You’ll need to wear or carry a device that receives information from the sensors attached to your body. Depending on the type of cardiac event recorder, you might carry it with you in your hand or pocket or wear it on one of your wrists.

For some heart monitor devices, you’ll need to push a button to record your heart rhythm when you’re having symptoms. Others will start recording on their own when an abnormal heart rhythm happens. It’s important to note that a monitor doesn’t offer safety or protection because it typically doesn’t have real-time monitoring. (You’ll get results weeks later.) If you’re concerned about your symptoms, seek emergency care.

Follow your provider’s instructions. They may want you to exercise so they can see what your heart monitor records for that time frame. Otherwise, just do what you normally do. It’s helpful to keep track of what you’re doing and any symptoms you’re having when you’re active. You should also make note of when you took heart medications.

Things that may keep the sensors from communicating with your heart monitor

You may need to avoid or keep your monitor a safe distance from these:

• Electric blankets, toothbrushes and razors.
• Magnets.
• Cell phones.
• Portable music (MP3) players.
• Microwave ovens.
• Computer tablets.
• Metal detectors.
• Places with high voltage.

What to expect after a heart monitor test

After your healthcare provider has the information they need from your cardiac monitor, you’ll return it to them. If you have an implantable type of cardiac event recorder, your provider will take it out. In the case of a patch, you may need to mail it when you’re done with it.

What are the risks of a heart monitor?

The adhesive on the sensor patches may irritate your skin, but that often goes away when you take off the patches. For the implanted type of cardiac event recorder, you may have a small risk of pain or infection from the procedure to put the device under your skin.

Using a heart monitor is painless. You’ll just be aware of the sensors attached to your skin

What type of results do you get and what do the results mean?

If your healthcare provider doesn’t see any major changes in your heart rhythms, your results are normal. If your cardiac event monitor results show abnormal heart rhythms, you may have an arrhythmia like:

• Heart block.
• One of the various types of tachycardia (fast heart rate), supraventricular or ventricular.
• Bradycardia (slow heart rate).
• Atrial fibrillation.
• Atrial flutter.

When should I know the results of a heart monitor test?

Depending on the type of cardiac event recorder you have, it may take a few days up to a few weeks to get results. Ask your provider when you can expect to get results.

If the results are abnormal, what are the next steps?

If your cardiac monitor results are abnormal, your provider may want to do more testing or move forward with treatment.

When should I call my doctor?

Call your healthcare provider if you have questions about using your heart monitor or if any of the instructions they gave you aren’t clear.

Call 911 if you think you’re having a heart attack.

Cardiac event monitor vs. Holter monitor

If you’re having frequent symptoms, your provider will ask you to use a Holter monitor, which is a heart monitor device that records your heart rhythm continuously for 24 to 48 hours. If your provider gets enough information from the Holter monitor to diagnose you, you won’t need to try a cardiac event monitor.

If you’ve tried the Holter monitor but it hasn’t given your provider enough information for a diagnosis, you may need to use a cardiac event monitor.

Who prescribes a heart monitor?

Your cardiologist, a healthcare provider who specializes in the heart, will ask you to use a cardiac event monitor. They’ll review the information it gathers and make a diagnosis from that.

Is it serious if you have to wear a heart monitor?

Yes, it can be. If a provider wants you to wear a heart monitor, they’re usually trying to find out what’s causing your fainting spells or other symptoms. Some abnormal heart rhythms are more dangerous than others. But a cardiologist (heart specialist) can’t confirm which kind you have until they see the results from your heart monitor.