Long-Term ECG Monitoring Helps Diagnose Atrial Fibrillation

The system’s diagnostic benefits include the ability to record and wirelessly transmit every heartbeat for up to 30 days; perform advanced arrhythmia analysis; and to provide immediate online access to all transmitted ECG data.

The patented technology employs cellular communication to transmit recordings of every heartbeat to secure servers, where proprietary algorithms analyze the incoming data for changes in morphology, rate, or rhythm. Patients can also initiate alerts when symptoms are experienced. Certified cardiac technicians validate the findings, post reports in real time, and alert physicians based on cardiac events or notification criteria. At any time, physicians can access information online, including any portion of the recorded ECG monitoring and trend reports detailing 24-hour heart rate and rhythm abnormalities, including AF. The TruVue ECG Monitoring System is a product of Biomedical Systems (St. Louis, MO, USA).

“TruVue expedites the diagnoses of patients who may have cardiac arrhythmia, including atrial fibrillation, by delivering the most comprehensive long-term view of the heart rhythm,” said Jim Ott, president of the cardiology division at Biomedical Systems. “With TruVue, we provide physicians with the unique ability to review every heartbeat for up to 30 days, combining both algorithm-triggered ECG-recordings and episodes recorded by patients, and immediately access information online without working through support staff.”

A Holter monitor (named for physicist Dr. Norman J. Holter, who invented telemetric cardiac monitoring in 1949) is a portable device for continuously monitoring various electrical activity of the cardiovascular system or monitoring brain activity for at least 24 hours (often for two weeks at a time). The extended recording period is useful for observing occasional cardiac arrhythmias or epileptic events, which would be difficult to identify in a shorter period of time. For patients having more transient symptoms, a cardiac event monitor, which can be worn for a month or more, can be used.

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