A Holter monitor records your heart's electrical activity the entire 24 to 48 hours you wear it and helps your doctor diagnose arrhythmias. You may pick up your monitor at your cardiologist's office or at the Cardiac Services Department at Doylestown Hospital.
Holter monitors record your heart's electrical activity, giving your doctor a more complete record of your heart rhythm than a routine EKG which lasts about 30 seconds. You also take detailed notes in a diary. You record your exact symptoms, what time they occur and what you are doing while they occur.
Your doctor gives you a physical exam before giving you a monitor and you may also have an EKG. The technician cleans five areas on your chest with alcohol and abrasive solution and places five electrodes (small sticky patches connected by wires to a recorder) on these areas. The technician secures the wires with additional tape and you clip the monitor to your belt or carry it in your pocket.
The technician will provide instructions on how to use the monitor. You follow your usual daily routine and keep a diary of your activities and any symptoms and include any medications you take and when you take them. Note the time you develop symptoms so your doctor may compare your notes with the results of the EKG.
Holter monitors are very safe to wear and there are no risks involved. Here are few reminders:
When you return the monitor, a technician scans the recorded tape and a cardiologist reviews the report and talks with your doctor. Your doctor will contact you with the test results as soon as they are available, which usually takes about one week.
Holter monitors record your heart's electrical activity, giving your doctor a more complete record of your heart rhythm than a routine EKG which lasts about 30 seconds. You also take detailed notes in a diary. You record your exact symptoms, what time they occur and what you are doing while they occur.
Your doctor gives you a physical exam before giving you a monitor and you may also have an EKG. The technician cleans five areas on your chest with alcohol and abrasive solution and places five electrodes (small sticky patches connected by wires to a recorder) on these areas. The technician secures the wires with additional tape and you clip the monitor to your belt or carry it in your pocket.
The technician will provide instructions on how to use the monitor. You follow your usual daily routine and keep a diary of your activities and any symptoms and include any medications you take and when you take them. Note the time you develop symptoms so your doctor may compare your notes with the results of the EKG.
Holter monitors are very safe to wear and there are no risks involved. Here are few reminders:
When you return the monitor, a technician scans the recorded tape and a cardiologist reviews the report and talks with your doctor. Your doctor will contact you with the test results as soon as they are available, which usually takes about one week.
