Cardiac Arrhythmias And Ambulatory ECG Monitoring

Cardiac arrhythmias, commonly known as heart arrhythmias or irregular heartbeat, are a group of heart conditions that deal with an irregular heartbeat. People with arrhythmias may experience faster heartbeat (tachycardia), slow heartbeat (bradycardia), or irregular heartbeat (referred to as flutter or fibrillation) or early heartbeat (premature contraction). The condition occurs when the electrical signals responsible for heart contraction or heartbeat stops working properly.

Is Cardiac Arrhythmias Dangerous?

Most cardiac arrhythmias are harmless. However, if they are a result of a weak or damaged heart, they can be serious and may even prove to be fatal. Often, arrhythmias do not have symptoms, which is why monitoring you and your patients' heartbeat using ambulatory ECG regularly is crucial. 

Why use ambulatory ECG?

Ambulatory ECG monitoring is the most preferred technology employed by the majority of medical professionals for the evaluation of patients with symptoms indicative of heart arrhythmia or conduction abnormality. Contrary to the standard electrocardiogram (ECG), which only gives a brief sample of cardiac electrical phenomena over 10-15 seconds, ambulatory ECG displays ECG data over a long period, hence enabling professionals for the assessment of dynamic and transient cardiac electrical activity.

Bottom Line

Despite the harmless nature of cardiac arrhythmias, it’s important not to overlook the condition, especially if your patients have diabetes, hypertension or have a history of stress, drug abuse or smoking. 

If you are looking for a PC based ambulatory ECG system, CardioHolter™ is a compact, comprehensive and feature-rich monitoring system you should consider. It’s fully interpretive with pacemaker detection and has a 3 channel display screen with an event button for reliable and accurate reporting. 

Mobile ECG Devices - Portable Devices To Monitor Cardiovascular Diseases

Electrocardiogram (ECG), the prime source to underline cardiovascular issues, is a device that monitors a patient’s heart activity. While conventional ECG devices are time-consuming, mobile ECG devices are lightweight, safe, and convenient. Besides being portable, these devices are easy to use. The wireless system allows data transmission via Bluetooth and other similar technologies, in a heartbeat. Due to these reasons, mobile ECG devices are slowly gaining popularity among medical professionals.

According to studies, Cardiovascular Diseases alone are cause of 31% of deaths each year, globally. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, and smoking are some other factors that contribute to the risk of developing heart diseases. Due to an increase in the incidence of CVD, ECG monitoring is becoming necessary. With the introduction of mobile ECG monitors, it has become easier for doctors and medical personnel to remotely diagnose patients on time. 

According to the American Heart Association, CVD is the underlying cause of more than 800,000 deaths in the United States. With the launch of Mission Lifeline, the demand for Bluetooth-equipped portable ECG devices has increased from hospitals. Though ECG has been in use for a long time, recent technological evolvement has highlighted its advantages among medical personnel and patients. 

A portable ECG monitoring device simplifies things for end-users in case of a medical emergency. For instance, when a patient feels unwell, an attendant can immediately note the reading of heart activity. The collected information could be further communicated to the doctor remotely to take the required actions. Besides, the recorded information can be transferred to devices like smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth and wireless technologies for references, in the future. 

How Stress And Heart Health Are Interlinked

Everyone experiences stress in their own unique way and reacts to it in differently. Stress is natural and can be triggered by various factors. But when this stress becomes a chronic illness, it starts interfering with organs of the body, particularly the heart. How much stress you experience and how you react to it can lead to a wide variety of health problems. This is why it’s critical to know what you should do about it, then take necessary measures to cut down the risks.

Stress and Your Heart- what happens during stress?

Stress is the root cause of death for half of the population of the world. It affects behavior and factors that increase heart disease risk such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, smoking, physical inactivity and overeating. Some people may choose to drink too much alcohol or smoke cigarettes to manage their chronic stress, however these habits can increase blood pressure and may damage artery walls. The body's response to stress may be a headache, back strain, or stomach pains. Stress can also alter energy levels, sleep patterns and make an individual feel cranky, forgetful and out of control.

 

In the event of a stressful situation the body releases adrenaline, a hormone that temporarily causes breathing, heart rate and blood pressure to rise. These reactions are called involuntary reactions that prepares a body to deal with the fight and flight situations.

With persistent stress, the body remains in high gear off and on for days or weeks at a time. July being the Mental Health Awareness Month, many organizations prepares seminars and sessions to educate people to manage stress. If the situation is worse, doctors may recommend to use portable ECG monitor to keep a close watch on the heart functioning and activities. With exercise and medication stress can be reduced and an individual can feel creative and energetic again.