Event Monitor

[bannanon]

Hi - First I want to begin by saying that I have posted many times and everyone is always so helpful and reassuring!  THANKS!!  I have just been to my cardiologist and he wanted me to wear an event monitor for 30 days.  This monitor has me NUTS!  I can push a button if I feel any weird sensations, but it also has an auto record in where it picks up things on its own and records.  I am concerned, because everyday it has been beeping that the auto record is full.  I am freaking out because I am wondering what is it that it is picking up???  When I go to transmit my recordings to the monitoring people they cannot tell me anything.  I have not heard from my md so I am assuming no news is good news.  I do not see my md again until the end of April.  If there is something dangerous on the strip that they see, do they call you?  Any experience with this kind of monitor would be great.  Will it record because I go up a flight of stairs and my heart rate goes up?  I am being paranoid?  THANKS!!!

[ireneo]

I've worn event monitors many times but never had the pleasure (?) of wearing one that decides to record on its own. Thank goodness since my heart likes to dance a lot. I'd rather decide what's interesting enough to record.

You're right - if a dangerous arrhythmia showed up on the strip, they would contact your doctor so s/he could review it and then decide whether to have you come in.

Sorry the monitor is being so sensitive. I doubt that they're set to record every increase in heart rate but who knows? Hang in there.

[twinbee]

I am on my 4th day of a 30 day event monitor also. And like you it is a monitor that automatically records events, but it also has the option to press the sides of the sensor to record anything that I feel. I have been on this type of monitor 3 times before. My experience is that the tech cannot tell you anything. Whenever the monitor recoreded anything serious I would first get a call from the monitoring service to see how I was feeling, then I always got a call from my EP telling me what to do. So I feel if your doctor is not calling you it is nothing serious. My event monitor like you is always "beeping" and send strips. When I don't hear anything I just assume the monitor is capturing pvc's or pac's, nothing harmful.

[crswin]

I am half way through my 30 day event monitor.  I do not have one that self- records, but I am under the inpression that no news is good news- at least not life- threatening.
Just wondering- when you are wearing an event monitor- how many times per day do you press the button.  I feel like I press it too much, but I was told by one of the techs better to press too much than not enough.
On a bad day, I press 25- 30 times.  On a good day I press 5- 10 times.  
Is this about right?
I am having delayed/ skipped beats with irregular beats, accompanied by chest pains, fluttering, and fatigue.  I also have right side numbness and slurred speech in really bad episodes, but popping a few aspirin helps.
How often do you all record events?

[ireneo]

If this is your first time wearing a monitor and you're trying to identify the arrhythmias you're having, then do record often. In my case, I already know that I have PAC's, PVC's and PSVT. So when I have to wear a monitor, I pick and choose carefully. The last time I wore one I only recorded 4 events because they were trying to identify what was causing the chest pain and how my PSVT was behaving before surgery. I ignored most of what was going on in there.