HowDoesanImplantableCardiacMonitorHelpwith Palpitation?

Heart palpitations are episodes involving sensations of aggravated heartbeats, typically accompanied by an elevated respiratory level A good reference for what a heart palpitation feels like, is the state your body is in usually after intense exercise or physical activity. For the most part, heart palpitations are perfectly normal as long as there are traceable natural causes that account for them However, they may also be a sign of a more serious condition that warrants medical intervention That’s where a cardiac ECG monitoring service can come in to help discern harmless palpitations from those that needtobetakenseriously.
Symptomsandcausesofpalpitations
We’ve already described that exercise could be a trigger for heart palpitations But there aremanyothercauseswhichcaninclude:
● Spicyfood
● Alcohol
● Caffeine
● Medication
● Pregnancy,etc
Palpitations are commonplace and may feel like extra heartbeats, or a more intense poundingorflip-floppingoftheheart
Aphysicalexaminationisusuallythefirstlineofaction
Before your physician can recommend an ECG test of anysort,theywillfirstsitdownwith you to understand your medical history. Heart palpitations can be caused by lifestyle habits (such as excessive caffeine consumption) or can be commonplace in persons with:
● Thyroiddysfunction
● Hypertension
● Lungdisease
Once the preliminaries are done,yourdoctormaythennowsuggestfollowingthisupwith acardiacECGmonitoringservicetoaugmentinitialassessmentfindings.
Whenacardiacmonitorisidealforheartpalpitations
Conventionally, heart palpitations don’t last long. A single episode could span just a few minutes or seconds If you have heart palpitations that last way too long or occur so frequentlyandwithoutaclearcause,thismayhintatapossible,underlyingarrhythmia.
To know for sure, an EKG may be the way to go Your cardiologist may recommend a holter monitor at first. This technology can provide monitoring for between 1 to 2 days, givingyourphysiciananinsider’sperspectiveintoyourheart’selectricactivity.
However, some palpitations can manifest sporadically across the span of days and may be missed by a standardEKG.Ifaholtermonitordoesn’tuncoveranything,yourphysician maysuggestlong-termcardiacremotepatientmonitoringforupto30days
Alternatively, a clinician may also recommend other portable ECD devices when a standard ECG examination falls short Forinstance,yourdoctormayrecommendCardiac Rhythm’s 2-in-1 heart biosensors, which serve both long- and short-term monitoring needs.
Howimplantablecardiacmonitorshelpwithpalpitations
Known as an ICM for short, an implantable cardiac monitor keeps tabs on the electrical activity of the heart for the long haul. Such a device negates the need for a traditional monitor which can be bulky and uncomfortable for the patient, given the numberoflead attachments. It is called an implantable cardiac monitor because it’s usually placed beneaththeskinviaminorsurgery.
The device should be able to provide monitoring service for 3 to 4 years, depending on the:
● Batterycapacity
● Frequencyoftransmission
● DeviceModelandmuchmore
This design negates the need for external leads, as the device can typically pick up electrical activity directly when placedsuperimposingtheheart Itcanrecorddataduring intermittentepisodesofheartpalpitations.
Heart palpitations can be a result of premature ventricular contractions (PVs), whereby your lower heart chambers generate the electrical signal to initiate aheartbeat,resulting inextrabeats.Hencetheflutteringorpoundingsensationinthechest.
Via an implantable cardiac monitor, technicians can perform ECG interpretations to pick out PVCs. While we’ll not go into the fine print, ECG technicians will generallybewatching for over overly long QRS complexes Moreover, the scorer will be on the lookout for abnormalshapesofthiswaveform,anditsprematureoccurrenceaswell
It's worth pointing out that PVCs could also be down to lifestyle or dietary factors as we previously pointed out If an implantable cardiac monitor is unable to pinpoint an arrhythmiaorheartproblem,yourphysicianshouldbeabletoworkoutothercauses
Treatmentforheartpalpitations
The approach to treatment will directly depend on what’s causing your palpitations.Ifit’s triggeredbyanactionorhabitwithinyourcontrol,yourphysicianmayadviseaccordingly. In particular, your doctor will suggestputtinginplacemeasurestocurtailtheroottriggers ofyourpalpitations,suchasdietarychanges
If your palpitations are caused by an arrhythmia, more advanced medical interventions may be executed to correct your condition. The exact course oftreatmentwilldependon thetypeofarrhythmiayoumayhave.
Sometypesofarrythmiasthatcanresultinheartpalpitationsinclude:
● Atrialflutter
● Atrialfibrillation
● Supraventriculartachycardia
● Ventricularfibrillation
Heart palpitations can be a common symptom for a wide range of arrhythmias so an ECG is always necessary In terms of treatment options, this may oscillate between corrective surgery and medication. Your physician may prescribe drugs such as beta blockerstoslowanacceleratedheartrateandthusproviderelieffromheartpalpitations.
In more severe cases, there may beaneedforthepatienttogoundertheknife.Onesuch common procedure is catheter ablation, which boasts a 90% success rate in arrhythmia identificationandtreatment,particularlyincasesoftachycardia(fastheartbeats)
That being said, it’s probably likely that you won’t need medication or surgery to fix your heart palpitations But it’s still important to get a professional diagnosis to alleviate any doubts
Heartpalpitationsarenottobebrushedaside
More often than not, heart palpitations arenormal Whenanimplantablecardiacmonitor is unable to pinpoint a particular arrhythmia, lifestyle or dietary factors maybetoblame. Heart palpations may not be life-threatening. As a matter of fact, most of them usually aren’t But when they occur too often, they can damage the heart muscle and lead to more serious issues It’s important to get in touch with your physician for further investigation in case you have frequent heart palpitations. From ourexperienceasoneof the top cardiac event monitoringcompanies,wealwaysrecommendECGtestingtoknow forsurejustwhat’sbehindyourheartpalpitations