When heart palpitations, extreme fatigue, dizziness, or other concerning cardiac symptoms prompt you to schedule a visit with our team at Sunnyvale Cardiology, EKG testing is one of the first diagnostic evaluations you can expect to undergo.
If an in-office EKG or stress test doesn’t catch a suspected heart rhythm abnormality, longer-term monitoring may be necessary. That’s when ambulatory EKG testing using a wearable device called a Holter monitor can help us attain further insight.
An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a noninvasive test that measures and records your heart’s electrical activity, which is a central marker of normal heart function and health.
Because it’s done during a limited office visit, EKG testing doesn’t always catch abnormal heart rhythm events that occur sporadically. A Holter monitor is a wearable, portable EKG device that continuously records cardiac electrical activity for 24-48 hours (or longer).
Holter monitoring tracks your heart’s electrical activity for a longer period of time and in a range of scenarios as you go about your normal routine, increasing the likelihood that it will record the suspected abnormality.
Holter monitoring can reveal a lot about your heart’s electrical activity, including its rate and its rhythm. We can use it pinpoint the following cardiac anomalies:
The device can detect arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation (AFib), bradycardia (a consistently slow heartbeat), or tachycardia (a consistently fast heart rate).
Certain abnormal heart rhythms — including the most common one, AFib — are a major risk factor for stroke and require prompt interventional care.
Holter monitoring can also detect changes in an otherwise normal heartbeat, such as premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) and premature atrial contractions (PACs). The information we obtain helps determine if they occur frequently enough to warrant treatment.
Holter monitoring records the natural fluctuations in your heart rate, too. Worrisome or abnormal fluctuations in HRV can signal stress, nervous system imbalances, or early signs of cardiovascular issues.
Sometimes, Holter monitoring catches transient episodes of poor blood flow (silent ischemia) or “hidden” rhythm problems that happen without noticeable symptoms. Next steps typically involve further testing to more fully assess cardiac function.
Holter monitoring has two main uses in cardiology: Searching for symptom correlation (heart health evaluation), and tracking treatment effectiveness (heart health management):
For the duration of Holter monitoring, you keep a written log of your daily activities as well as any symptoms you experience, including what time they happen and how long they last.
During your follow-up data evaluation appointment, we cross-reference your recorded heart data with your symptom/activity diary, looking at how your heart was behaving when you were very active, resting, or experiencing palpitations, dizziness, or chest pain.
If you already take medication for an existing heart condition like AFib, Holter monitoring can show whether your current treatment is effectively stabilizing your rhythm.
At the start of the Holter monitoring process, you visit our office and a technician places flat, sticky sensors (electrodes) on your chest. These sensors are connected via wires to a small device (about the size of a deck of cards) that you wear on a belt or a shoulder strap.
We make sure the Holter monitor is reading and recording your cardiac electrical activity as expected and give you essential guidelines to follow for the duration of testing (e.g., don’t remove the electrodes or get them wet). Then, you:
The Holter monitor records continuously until you return to our office. After we remove the electrodes and shut off the device, our team analyzes the continuous data to map out your heart’s average, minimum, and maximum rates; check for rhythm interruptions; and review symptom/activity correlations through your written log.
Whether you’re a candidate for Holter monitoring — or recent Holter monitor test results require further investigation — we’re here to help. Call or click online to schedule a visit with our team at Sunnyvale Cardiology in Sunnyvale, Texas, today.
