Heart Monitoring Specialist

What is heart monitoring?

Heart monitoring, including electrocardiograms, Holter monitors, and LINQ™ devices, provide data about your heart activity. These diagnostic tools help Dr. Siva at Sunshine Cardiovascular & Vein to evaluate your heart health and function and diagnose heart disease.

Electrocardiogram (EKG) is an in-office procedure. Holter monitors and LINQ devices record your heart activity for 24 hours, event monitor is up to 30 days, and LINQ device is up to 3 years which provides a more comprehensive view of your cardiovascular health.

Why would I need heart monitoring?

Dr. Siva often uses heart monitoring to evaluate heart palpitations. You might feel like you have an extra or skipped heartbeat or like you have a rapid heartbeat. Heart palpitations can develop in any chamber in your heart. Extra or skipped heartbeats in the top chambers of your heart are premature atrial complexes. Irregular heartbeats in the bottom chambers are premature ventricular complexes.

These irregularities aren’t life-threatening and often have multiple origination points in the affected heart chamber.

Atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and supraventricular tachycardia originate in the top chambers of your heart but typically have a single origination point.

What should I expect during heart monitoring?

Your heart monitoring experience depends on the type of heart monitor Dr. Siva recommends. For example, he offers in-office EKGs that record your heart activity while you’re in the office.

During an EKG, electrodes are attached to your chest and back. The sensors pick up your heart activity and send it to a computer that shows your heartbeat on a screen. While informative, EKGs only show a brief period of heart activity and might not reveal a problem.

In these cases, Dr. Siva might recommend a Holter monitor or LINQ device.

Holter monitor

A Holter monitor records your heart activity for approximately 24 hours. You wear the small device in a pouch around your neck or attached to your belt. It’s connected to electrodes that you stick to your chest and back.

LINQ devices

A LINQ device is an implantable heart monitor that can record your heart activity for up to three years. It’s the size of a thumb drive, and Dr. Siva can place the device under the skin of your chest in a 10-minute procedure at the hospital.

DR Siva might recommend a Holter monitor, event monitor or LINQ device. When you have cardiovascular symptoms, Dr. Siva can cross-reference your symptoms with the data recorded by your monitor, which helps him diagnose the problem.

Call Sunshine Cardiovascular & Vein, or make an appointment online today, for expert cardiovascular diagnostics, including heart monitoring.

We are located in 5340 Gulf Drive, Suite 101, New Port Richey, FL 34652. Call us to book your appointment today.