The implications of the new 2013 European guidelines for cardiac stimulation and heart-resynchronisation therapy in the area of arrhythmia diagnostics through long-term ECG monitoring. Current technical parameters and types of long-term ECG monitoring

Czech version

Authors: L. Rambousková; M. Novák
Authors‘ workplace: I. interní kardioangiologická klinika LF MU a FN u sv. Anny v Brně
Published in: Kardiol Rev Int Med 2015, 17(3): 245-248
Category: Cardiology Review

Overview

Long-term ECG monitoring has been used in clinical practice for more than 80 years. Over this period it has undergone steady development concerning indication criteria, types of monitoring devices and their software. The new 2013 European guidelines for cardiac stimulation and heart-resynchronisation therapy emphasise the importance of typical clinical symptoms of specific arrhythmias and their frequency in the selection process for the appropriate monitoring device. In this article we will focus on the technical aspects of long-term monitoring: noninvasive (recorders) and invasive (implantable recorders and recorders integrated within PM and ICDs) devices; continual, loop and episodic recorders. The yield of monitoring increases with the length of monitoring and is higher in automatically-activated devices. The devices are used to monitor mainly arrhythmias, ischaemia, RR and QT interval variability, etc. The article highlights the importance of long-term monitoring for the evaluation of the effect of various therapies (e.g. pharmacological therapy, surgical ablation, percentage of HRT, evaluation of patients after stroke) and adverse effects of drugs. Finally, individual types of ECG monitoring are described.

Keywords:
long-term ECG monitoring – principles and indicators for ECG monitoring – ECG Holter – loop recorder – rhythm-card – implantable ECG recording devices

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