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Why a loop monitor rather than a pacemaker

Have intermittent AFib , heart monitor showed no serious AFibs but Dr. wanted to put me on a Reveal LINQ and since I have had no fainting or other problems and feel fine why would I want to be on a loop device when a pacemaker would correct any AF problems ?
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20748650 tn?1521032211
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hey! Good question!

First off a pacemaker will not necessarily correct AFib. Some forms of pacing can help reduce burden but it’s actually one of the least effective methods and is therefore reserved for when other methods fail. Alternatively if one requires a pacing device for some other reason other than Afib it may be appropriate (ie for heart failure)

More appropriate therapy would be either an ablation procedure or medications. However each of these carries some risk and there is no agreement in the medical community as to when the risk of the therapy is worth the benefits.

The primary goal of afib treatment is reduction of symptoms. So if you feel fine I’m fairly sure most doctors would want to simply monitor your afib until such a time when the dangers associated with ablation and more aggressive medications can be justified by a heightened Afib burden. This is why you have a loop.

The loop is there to monitor the Afib to better delineate when exactly is the appropriate time to intervene and what intervention to take.

Imagine going through a pacemaker procedure only to find out your afib doesn’t really get any worse as the years go by or even to discover that the afib actually gets a little bit better on its own.

You would have wasted all that money and taken on all that risk for no good reason./
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Avatar universal
Implantable loop recorder, pacemaker, and automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) are all cardiac devices placed under the skin in the chest but serve different purposes. Implantable loop recorder is only a diagnostic monitor. Pacemaker monitors and regulates heart rate. AICD monitors for abnormal rhythms and shocks to correct them.
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