Cardiac event monitor

Cardiac Event Monitor is a medical device used to record the heart's electrical activity when the patient is experiencing symptoms such as palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or chest pain. It is a type of ambulatory electrocardiographic monitor that is patient-activated.

Overview

A Cardiac Event Monitor is a type of heart monitor used to record the electrical activity of the heart over a prolonged period of time. Unlike a standard Electrocardiogram (ECG) which records the heart's activity continuously, a Cardiac Event Monitor is activated by the patient when they experience symptoms. This allows the device to record the heart's activity during symptomatic events, providing valuable information to healthcare professionals.

Types of Cardiac Event Monitors

There are two main types of Cardiac Event Monitors: post-event recorders and pre-event recorders.

Post-event recorders are activated by the patient after they experience symptoms. The device then records the heart's activity for a short period of time, usually a few minutes.

Pre-event recorders, also known as loop recorders, continuously record the heart's activity. When the patient experiences symptoms, they activate the device which saves the heart's activity from a short period before, during, and after the event.

Usage

Cardiac Event Monitors are typically used when a patient experiences symptoms infrequently or when a standard ECG is unable to capture the cause of the symptoms. They are often used in the diagnosis of arrhythmias, syncope, and other heart-related conditions.

See Also

• Holter monitor
• Electrocardiography
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Syncope (medicine)