What Can Holter Monitoring Reveal About My Heart?

Cardiac problems are a growing concern among many adults, driving them to seek help from a specialist. However, before getting a diagnosis, they often undergo various tests to determine what's wrong with their heart.

Holter monitoring is one of the tools doctors use to find out essential information about your heart health. It's a small monitor you wear on your chest for several days to record your heartbeat and any variances in your rhythm.

If you're concerned about your heart health, Dr. Ghiath Mikdadi and Dr. Farid Zayed offer cardiac services at their Heart Clinic of Hammond practice in Hammond and Amite, Louisiana.

Dr. Mikdadi and Dr. Zayed are board-certified cardiologists providing holter monitoring, ECGs, and stress testing as diagnostic tools for heart problems.

What is a Holter monitor?

A Holter monitor is a portable device that reads and records your heart rhythm while going about your normal activities. The monitor is small, about the size of a modern cell phone, and attaches to your body with electrodes.

We place the electrodes at specific areas on your chest to capture your heartbeat effectively. The electrodes attach to the small device, which you can keep in a bag or pocket.

You must wear the monitor for at least 24 hours and sometimes up to 48 hours for accurate results. We advise you to go about your normal activities and keep a diary if you experience heart palpitations or other symptoms.

You don't need to do anything special to prepare for a holter monitor. You come into the office, where our team equips you with the monitor, and you can go about your day as planned.

Information a Holter monitor relays

Holter monitors provide essential information to our team about how your heart beats. It relays vital details about your heart health, including:

Irregular heartbeats

Sometimes, arrhythmias and irregular heartbeats don't show up on an EKG, making it hard to diagnose a problem. A Holter monitor evaluates your heartbeat and rhythm throughout the day, catching irregularities that a single ECG may miss.

Symptoms related to heart disease

If you're experiencing fatigue, shortness of breath, fainting, or dizziness but other tests haven't found the source of the problem, a holter monitor can help.

While the heart monitor is on, record when you feel these symptoms so our team can link the heartbeat at that specific time to determine if your heart is the culprit behind your symptoms.

Chest pain evaluation

Many people undergo an exercise stress test to evaluate chest pain, which often reproduces chest pain while your body is exercising during the stress test.

However, we prescribe a Holter monitor if the stress test doesn't reproduce your chest pain; we watch what your heart does during normal activities to evaluate symptoms and changes related to chest pain.

Pacemaker health

A pacemaker is a permanently implanted device that controls your heart rate. After a pacemaker insertion, we suggest you wear a heart monitor to determine how well the device works on the heart.

Success of treatment

When you're living with heart disease or a cardiac problem, treatment is an essential aspect of your overall well-being. A heart monitor provides valuable information about the success of your treatment plan by monitoring how your heart works during daily activities.

Cardiac risk assessment

The Holter monitor can also assess future cardiac problems, such as the risk for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

If you have a significant family history of cardiac abnormalities, a heart monitor is essential for evaluating your heart health.

After we evaluate the information on the Holter monitor, we disclose your results within a week or two. The next steps in treatment depend on the results, and you may require further testing or changes to your treatment plan to keep your heart healthy.

The Heart Clinic of Hammond team thoroughly evaluates your symptoms and medical history to determine if a Holter monitor is the best option for your cardiac needs.

To schedule an appointment for a Holter monitor, don't hesitate to call the Heart Clinic of Hammond today to schedule a consultation or request an appointment on the website.