Mini ECG monitors the heart

Mini ECG for cardiac monitoring

01/30/2014

Doctors of the first time on Tuesday have a patient newly implanted miniature ECG device implanted directly on the heart. This should be continuously recorded the heart activity. Monitoring with an ECG usually occurs in patients suspected of having irregular and prolonged cardiac arrhythmias. The recently approved device from Medtronic weighs no more than two grams and is about the size of three matches.

An advantage of this tiny device is that patients no longer have to undergo surgery. It is sufficient if on the left side of the patient's chest the ECG recorder is inserted directly under the skin with a special device. With this procedure, a local anesthetic is sufficient and it does not take more than a few minutes. To ensure reliable operation, two electrodes on the recorder record the cardiac currents. For three years, the mini-apparatus can independently detect and store cardiac arrhythmias. The only difference to a stationary device used in hospitals and medical practices is that the signals are only stored on one channel and not, as in the big ones, at twelve. One should feel nothing of the procedure, reports the 78-year-old patient Horst Brömmer to the world.

"In the beginning it tweaked a bit, but otherwise I did not notice much of it". In the future, over a device in his bedroom, the data on his heart activities will be recorded independently every 24 hours and sent to his attending physician via a modem. The advantage of this device is obvious. The doctor can at any time, even if he is far from his godfathers, detect deviations from the normal heart rhythm and contact him in case of disturbances. He always gets reliable data, if the heart is still in tact.

"Should the patient suddenly feel uncomfortable, he can also hold the reading device on the recorder right at the moment and send it to his doctor at the push of a button," explains Prof. Stephan Willems, Director of the Cardiology Clinic focusing on electrophysiology at the University Heart Center of the University of UKE.

The new mini-apparatus will be used in patients who complain of cardiac arrhythmia symptoms such as dizziness, heart stumbling, fainting and chest pain. After treatment for atrial fibrillation, the device can also be used for therapy control. "It is also conceivable use after strokes, in which the cause is unknown, because a large part of these strokes could be triggered by atrial fibrillation," said the cardiologist to the world. (Fr)