Mobile Cardiac Telemetry
Mobile cardiac telemetry is when monitors are placed on a patient to transmit the heartbeat patterns remotely and in real time.
Mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) is the cutting-edge of cardiac monitoring.
MCT devices are small portable monitors that send a constant feed of data showing the ECG readout of the patient in real-time. All irregularities in heart function send an additional alarm to the monitoring technician. MCT devices provide even more information such as AFIB burden. The monitors Heart Med utilizes offer the additional benefit of a built-in Event Monitor. Should the need arise, a patient simply need press on the event button, notifying the technician of some symptom or feeling the patient is experiencing. The data is transmitted to a 24-hour manned monitoring center via a mobile network, and interpreted by a qualified, cardiac-trained technician.
The data and recordings provided by telemetry monitoring enable health care providers to determine if the heart is beating as it should over an extended period of time. The ability to obtain a realistic snapshot of the heart’s function through everyday activities has had an enormous impact on Cardiac Care.
MCT has proven to be a superior method of detecting cardiac arrhythmias compared to traditional Holter Monitor. MCT enables the confirmation of diagnoses of significant cardiac arrhythmias whether the patients feel the symptoms or not. No patient intervention is necessary, which removes an important variable that has limited the diagnostic utility of other Ambulatory Cardiac Monitoring modalities. The future for Cardiac Care is bright as MCT progresses to expedite & improve the quality of clinical diagnoses.
The indications for the use of Mobile Cardiac Telemetry may include:
- Patients with palpitations or undiscovered arrhythmias
- Patients that have symptoms that may be connected with various cardiac arrhythmias. Such symptoms can be transient chest pain (angina), shortness of breath (dyspnea) signs of dizziness (syncope)
- Patients who require 24 hours monitoring such as Supraventricular Tachycardia. Pre-mature Atrial Contractions, Atrial Fibrillation, Atrial Flutter, Pre-mature Ventricular Contractions, Ventricular Tachycardia
- Evidence of Bradycardiac and Tachycardiac Arrhythmias
- Post Acute Cardiac surgery and/or myocardial infarction in an in-patient setting
- Prescription drug monitoring to control Atrial Fibrillation
- Patients recovering from cardiac surgery who are indicated for outpatient arrhythmia monitoring
- Patients with diagnosed sleep disorders (obstructive sleep apnea) to evaluate arrhythmia behavior
- Patients requiring arrhythmia evaluation of etiology of stroke or transient cerebral ischemia and/or stroke from atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter.
How is Mobile Cardiac Telemetry done?
Three electrodes (sticky pads) are placed on a patient’s chest and stomach area. Electrodes may also be placed on a patient’s arms or legs. A wire is attached to each electrode. These wires are attached to a mobile monitor. The monitor sends information about your heart’s electrical activity to a monitoring station. A certified technician at the station constantly checks the information. They look for problems or changes in how the heart is functioning.
The technician can help foresee any life-threatening cardiac events.
The monitoring of real-time data regarding the heart’s activity significantly adds to the prevention of high-risk situations and allows for timely intervention in life-threatening events.