Cardiac event monitor
The cardiac event monitor is a small device that is used to record the electrical activity of the heart. The cardiac event monitoring test allows for on-demand heart monitoring outside the hospital/clinic settings when symptoms are noted by the patient as he/she goes through the normal routine. The information collected by a cardiac event monitor is often sent over the phone to a doctor's office, clinic or hospital. This helps the doctor choose a line of treatment to meet the specific needs and demands of the patients' condition. The cardiac event monitors are easy to use by people of all ages.
The cardiac event monitor is clipped to the waistband of the patient. The monitor is connected to a set of wires which are attached to two electrodes worn on the patient. The EKG electrodes are small sticky patches attached to the patient's chest. The monitor can be worn for up to 30 days. Normally cardiac event monitor is used to record an abnormal heart rhythm. The patient triggers the cardiac event monitor device when he first begins to feel signs of dizziness, weakness, lightheadedness and fluttering of the heart.
Loop recorder: This is a small device that is attached to the patient's chest with electrodes. The smallest type of pre-symptom event monitor is about the size of a pager. The event monitor device constantly records heartbeats. The patient presses a button on the monitor when any symptoms occur so that a permanent recording is made of the heart rhythm. The monitor also saves some information about how the patient's heart was beating before the save button was pressed. This is called pre symptom recording. This feature is especially useful to detect the patient's condition at the time the heart problems occur.
Event recorder: This is a small monitoring device that is used only when symptoms of the heart problems occur. It does not have any electrodes attached to the chest.
Doctors can also diagnose whether the heart beats too rapidly, too slowly or irregularly during the arrhythmia by means of this event monitoring device. Doctors can also diagnose an arrhythmia by obtaining an electrocardiogram. If the doctor suspects the patient to suffer an arrhythmia and the symptoms are infrequent, then the cardiac event monitor is used by the doctor to monitor the patient over longer periods of time. Find out more on Holter monitor.
The patient should ensure to keep the patches within the designated areas.
The monitor batteries should be changed at the same time each day.
A diary has to be kept handy to record the events.
Transmitting of the recording can be done daily, weekly or whenever the patient feels symptoms that warrant immediate attention.
If the findings indicate that immediate medical care is required, then the doctor has to be notified right away.
Cardiac Stress Test
A cardiac stress test aids in assessing how the heart can cope during exercise, especially when the body need for oxygen puts extra demands on the heart. A cardiac stress test is called a graded test or exercise tolerance test, exercise stress test or exercise electrocardiography. It helps to primarily evaluate the heart and vascular systems during the exercise. In fact, the American Heart Association has recommended the Cardiac stress test (EKG treadmill in particular) as the first choice to be tried on patients with medium risk of coronary heart disease and who exhibit certain risk factors of smoking, family history of coronary stenosis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
It helps to determine whether coronary arteries are clogged or blocked.
To find the cause of chest pain.
To assess the heart's capability after a heart attack or heart surgery.
To discover the presence of any heart disease.
To set limits on a person's exercise.
To detect arrhythmias, that is extra heart beats, during the exercise.
To assess the capacity of medicine used to control chest pain or extra beats during exercise.
The cardiac stress test can be done in a clinic or a hospital. The patient may be asked to exercise using a bicycle, treadmill or arm ergometer. The patient is attached to an ECG machine. The blood pressure cuff is placed on any one arm. The patient's heart is usually monitored using a 12 - lead EKG or ECG machine. A heart monitor may be used during and after exercise. After a baseline ECG is obtained, the patient begins to perform a low level of exercise, either by walking on a treadmill or pedaling or a stationary bicycle.
At each stage the exercise, the pulse, the blood pressure and ECG are recorded along with any symptoms that the patient may be experiencing. The level of exercise is gradually increased until the patient cannot keep up any longer because of fatigue or until symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath or lightheadedness prevent further exercise. The goal of this stress test is to diagnose the presence or absence of coronary artery disease. In a sub maximal stress test, the patient exercises only until a pre-determined level of exercise is attained. These tests are used in patients with known coronary artery disease, to measure whether the patient can perform a specific level of exercise with relative safety.
The side effects of a cardiac stress test also include palpitation, chest pain, and shortness of breath, headache, nausea and fatigue. The hypertension caused by stress testing is always considered abnormal and it may lead to severe coronary disease. In stress tests, false positive results are not uncommon. There can be occasions when the patient's ECG changes could suggest ischemia, even in the absence of coronary artery disease. Similarly, in stress test, false negatives are also not uncommon. In some patients, no significant ECG changes will be seen even in the presence of coronary artery disease. Presently, a new concept called nuclear perfusion study is added to the stress test. This factor has helped to minimize the limitations and improve the diagnostic capability of stress tests.
Cardiac Catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is a test which is performed to obtain certain diagnostic information about the heart. Patients may require this medical therapy rather than undergo angioplasty or bypass surgery when they suffer from rare or easily controlled episodes of angina. Alternatively, cardiac catheterization is not performed in patients who have infrequent episodes of angina and in whom angina can be easily controlled. When a patient has heart failure due to suspected coronary artery disease or there is suspected coronary artery disease, cardiac catheterization is conducted. Cardiac catheterization can help:
Measure blood pressure within heart.
Know the amount of oxygen in the blood.
Check the pumping ability of the heart muscle.
Check blood flow through the heart after surgery.
Collect blood samples from the heart.
Inject dye into the coronary arteries.
To provide treatment in certain types of heart conditions like congenital heart defects and how severe it is.
To find out a coronary artery disease and if found to pinpoint the size and location of fat and calcium deposits that have built up in coronary artery from atherosclerosis.
To determine whether the patient needs bypass surgery or angioplasty.
Examine the arteries of the heart with an x-ray technique called fluoroscopy.
The patient is asked not to drink or eat anything, except a small amount of water, for atleast 6 to 12 hours before the test. The patient is tested for allergy to iodine or other medications. Patients suffering from kidney disease or diabetes or bleeding disorders must keep the cardiologist informed. The cardiac catheterization test is performed in a cath lab by a cardiologist. The actual catheterization procedure takes about 15 - 30 minutes. The patient's electrocardiogram that continuously records the electrical activity of the heart is taken. A pulse oximeter device that measures the oxygen levels of the patients' blood is monitored. An intravenous needle is inserted into the patients' vein to give fluids or medicine during the catheterization procedure. A sedative is also given through this IV line which helps the patient to relax.
Cardiac catheterization procedure involves passing a catheter, a thin flexible tube, into the right or left side of the heart. The doctor inserts this thin plastic tube into the groin - femoral artery. Other places where in the catheter may be inserted are the elbow- brachial artery or the wrist - radial artery. From there it is slowly advanced into the chambers of the heart or into the coronary arteries. The doctor watches the progress of the catheter into the heart's vessels and chambers on the imaging screen. Pressures within the heart chambers are measured and the blood and tissue samples are also removed through the catheter. A small amount of dye is also injected through the catheter into the heart chamber or into one of the coronary arteries.
Therapeutic catheterization: Certain types of heart defects can be repaired using catheterization. For instance, if the coronary arteries are blocked, the cardiologist can use a catheter, guide wire and balloon to open and improve blood flow to the heart. This is termed as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
Normal result indicate that there is no significant narrowing or blockage in the coronary arteries. Abnormal results may suggest that the heart does not pump blood normally or the valves in the heart may be weak. There may be leakage between heart chambers. There is a possibility of aortic aneurysm. Some complications with cardiac catheterization include heart attack or stroke, hematoma, puncture of the heart or arrhthmias.
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