Ambulatory Electrocardiography

Ambulatory electrocardiography involves the monitoring of the electrical activity of the heart as the patient carries out normal life activities. By continuously monitoring the patient’s heart, ambulatory electrocardiography is able to detect dysrhythmias that occur only sporadically and are easily missed during periodic
electrocardiographic assessments.
Holter monitoring is performed by attaching several chest electrodes to a small recorder that is carried with the patient. The monitoring is conducted for a 24- to 48-hour period. The patient maintains a diary of activities and any symptoms experienced during the testing period.
Event monitoring, which is conducted for a 30-day period, is used for those patients whose symptoms occur infrequently. This monitor consists of a small recorder and two electrodes that can be removed for bathing and reapplied by the patient. When symptoms such as fluttering or discomfort are experienced, the patient presses the “Record” button. A recording is then made of the heart’s electrical activity for the 15 seconds before the “Record” button was pushed and for 1 minute afterward. The patient maintains a diary of the symptoms experienced.