When a person has any problems withheart, he turns for help to a cardiologist. The doctor, to assess the situation with the health of the heart muscle, conducts an electrocardiographic study.
But the ECG reveals not all the problems, becausethat it gives a momentary picture. For example, if a patient has occasional attacks of arrhythmia, but during a visit to the doctor, the heart will work normally, there will be no abnormalities on the cardiogram. In order to identify a pathology that is not visible at the time of recording the ECG, an ECG holter is used.
What is a holter?
Это портативный медицинский прибор, который fastens on the patient's body and records electrocardiogram and blood pressure for twenty-four hours with electrodes. Named ECG-holter in honor of the inventor of the device - biophysicist Norman Holter. This American researcher developed and for the first time applied the technique of daily heart monitoring in 1961. Analyzing the data obtained during the study, the cardiologist will be able to identify violations. But in order for the monitoring picture to be objective, the patient needs to lead a normal life during the day: go to work, walk, play sports.
In this case, the doctor will ask the patient to keep a diary,which will be marked periods of rest, physical activity, emotional stress, food intake and drugs. In case of pain, it will be necessary to note their nature, duration, time and causes. In some cases, the study may be conducted for two, three, and sometimes seven days.
When is ECG holter used?
Holter indications arepatient's complaints of pain in the heart of unclear genesis, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, loss of consciousness. The cardiologist may prescribe an ECG holter to detect the presence of dangerous arrhythmias, if the patient has had a myocardial infarction, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or suspected coronary heart disease.
Holter is used when it is necessary to evaluatethe effectiveness of the pacemaker or after antiarrhythmic treatment. When Norman Holter only made his invention, the device weighed 40 kilograms, and the patient wore a transmitter in a backpack on his back. Cardiogram recorded and processed stationary receiver. A modern ECG holter device weighs about 500 grams and is small in size, but despite this, it can interfere with the patient during sleep. In addition, the holter is a costly complex electronic device, it should be carefully treated, protected from vibrations and shocks, from exposure to high and low temperatures. Holter can not be wetted, so the patient at the time of the study will have to give up taking a bath and shower.
Холтеровский мониторинг работы сердца эффективен in the event that episodes of deterioration of the patient’s condition occur within twenty-four hours, otherwise additional methods of investigation must be applied.
