Arrhythmia Monitoring Doesn't Have to Take Place in the Hospital

Arrhythmia monitoring is something that many cardiologists will request when someone has an irregular heartbeat. Whether it was something you have had on and on for your entire life or it is something that has recently developed, your doctor is likely going to request you to wear a monitor in order to obtain more data as to your heartbeat. This monitor may be worn for 24 hours or even longer.

Years ago, arrhythmia monitoring had no choice but to take place within the hospital. It involved a lot of wires hooked to the wall for power as well as hooked to you for monitoring. New strides in technology have been made so that you do not have to reside in the hospital for days on end for this monitoring to be done. Depending upon what is going on, you may not need to spend a single night in the hospital - all because of wireless monitors that you can wear at home.

Many doctors were hesitant to use wireless monitors when they first came out for a variety of reasons, including:

• Minimal battery life
• Patients forgot to record data
• Units were cumbersome

This is not the situation anymore thanks to some significant improvements within the medical industry. Doctors are now more likely to schedule arrhythmia monitoring for a patient outside of the hospital because they are confident with the handheld, wireless monitors that are now available. They have a significant battery life and can go over 30 days without being charged - which is ideal for when a doctor wants to record heartbeat data for a 30-day period.

Additionally, patients no longer have to be responsible for recording the data off of the machine. Instead, the unit is going to do all of the recording automatically. It will have electrodes that connect to your chest. From there, the unit will be able to sensor heartbeats speeding up or slowing down as well as any irregular patterns. The doctor will program the Arrhythmia Monitoring unit to determine how often the unit will send data to him or her. This allows the doctor to "look" in on the patient without the patient being in the hospital - and even without the doctor being in the hospital.

If you don't have to stay in the hospital for arrhythmia monitoring, it's better for you. You may not have insurance that covers overnight stays - and even when you do, you may still be responsible for a hefty co-pay. Also, you may not have the sick time to be able to take off. With a wireless monitor, you can go home, go grocery shopping or go to work. The added benefit is that as you do more activities, your doctor will be able to see your heartbeats - and certain activities may trigger an arrhythmia.

Hospitals are fine for those that are sick. If you aren't sick and there's no reason for you to be in the hospital, then you can take advantage of modern medicine with a wireless heart monitor.