What is Mobile Cardiac Telemetry?
Mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) is a cardiac monitoring system that utilizes a small portable device to monitor a patient’s heart activity. It is designed to record the patient’s heartbeat while they are exercising, sleeping, or running errands. It is the most advanced cardiac monitoring system that monitors your cardiac activity 24/7 and delivers information to a designated person who will get in touch with your physician immediately if any abnormalities are noted with your cardiac activity. This technology is noteworthy as it is a real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor that has the capacity to automatically detect any ECG abnormalities and transmit this ECG data via cell phone technology to an authorized diagnostic center for professional analysis.
MCT is becoming more and more common as the device is far less labor-intensive for the patient than the traditional Event Monitor. A cardiac event monitor is a device used for detecting only symptoms sensed by the patient. The MCT monitor has the capacity to transmit both symptoms perceived by the patient as well as irregularities that are not perceived by the patient. Additionally, MCT monitoring is helpful as the communication is constant so if there are messages required to be transmitted to the patient, the process is reliable and simple as it uses standard cell phone technology.
What are the Indications for Mobile Cardiac Telemetry?
Mobile cardiac telemetry can be indicated as a vital diagnostic tool to monitor and pick up abnormal heart rhythms (cardiac arrhythmias).
An arrhythmia is a disorder characterized by an abnormal or irregular heartbeat such as beating too fast (tachycardia) or too slowly (bradycardia) caused by a disturbance in the electrical signals in the heart chambers. When this happens, your heart may not pump blood effectively, and you may feel faint, short of breath, and weak. You may also feel your heart pounding.
In general, your physician may recommend mobile cardiac telemetry for arrhythmias if other monitoring and/or testing such as a Holter monitor has been inappropriate or unrevealing or if there is a low probability of a possibly life-threatening cardiac episode.
How Does Mobile Cardiac Telemetry Work?
MCT is a portable device with electrodes attached to your chest to monitor rhythmic activity. Your physician will order an MCT device and register with a cardiac monitoring provider. Once you are ready, the monitoring system’s office activates the device and the heartbeat data is transmitted wirelessly across the mobile network. The MCT device is also capable of recording patient-activated or symptomatic tests, where the patient is able to manually push a button and enter the symptoms when they feel them. The device also auto-triggers for tachycardia, bradycardia, pauses, or atrial fibrillation (AFib). Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition characterized by an irregular and rapid heartbeat that hampers the blood supply to the body.
Data compiled through the continuous electrocardiogram is sent to the monitoring center and analyzed by professionally trained personnel, who check for any irregularities as they occur. Any auto-triggered or symptomatic episodes are examined as they are obtained by the monitoring center. Additionally, the patient’s complete disclosure information is analyzed for onsets and offsets of “difficult to detect” arrhythmias that may not have been perceived by the patient or any other irregularities. They also quantify AFibs and pauses, calculating the rate of bradycardia, tachycardia, and collecting a comprehensive list of calculations. Once the study is over, an end-of-study report is created and sent to the physician for analysis.
Summary
Mobile cardiac telemetry is one of the most effective systems for cardiac monitoring. It can precisely capture variations in the activities of the heart that occur throughout the monitoring period. The ability to examine every heartbeat with little interference to the patient’s daily routine, and the chance to initiate an immediate emergency response as required, makes it one of the most interesting choices in cardiac services. It offers benefits to both the physician and the patient and can result in a more efficient cardiac care.
