Get Heart Smart
Know your heart risk in just 5 minutes! Take our Get Heart Smart quiz today and you will get a personalized heart risk report that could help you live healthier and longer.
Often, the best way for us to understand arrhythmias is through careful monitoring, for days and sometimes even months or years. Monitors that track abnormal heart rhythms give us a wealth of data. The detailed information helps us thoroughly analyze arrhythmias and determine proper treatment.
Learn more about:
An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) performed in our office gives us a short snapshot of your heart’s rhythm. It measures electrical activity for only a few minutes.
Often, though, arrhythmias don’t show up on these tests because we need a longer look at your heart’s rhythm. Heart rhythm monitoring provides the extended tool we need for this task.
We use three main types of heart rhythm monitoring. We have options that record your rhythm for a day or two or up to several years.
A portable Holter monitor records your heart’s electrical activity for 24 to 48 hours. The small device is painless.
How it works:
A portable cardiac event recorder, or event monitor, records your heart’s rhythm for up to one month. This painless device allows us to compare your symptoms with a read-out of your heart’s electrical activity.
Some event recorders connect to sticky patches (electrodes) on your chest. Others attach to your wrist. You activate the event recorder when you have symptoms such as palpitations or dizziness.
The event recorder automatically sends data to our office. You do not need to do anything. We use this information to see how your heart’s rhythm behaves when you experience symptoms.
Loop recorders continuously monitor your heart’s rhythm for up to three years. These small devices are very useful for people whose symptoms don’t happen very often.
You might need a loop recorder if other tests haven’t shown a reason for your symptoms or a cause of the arrhythmia. We may also recommend a loop recorder if you have unexplained fainting or heart palpitations.
We implant the loop recorder under the skin of your chest during a minor procedure. The device records your heart’s rhythm and transmits the data to us. Once we have enough information, we remove the loop recorder during another quick procedure.
Request an appointment with an electrophysiologist.
Know your heart risk in just 5 minutes! Take our Get Heart Smart quiz today and you will get a personalized heart risk report that could help you live healthier and longer.
Find tips on eating healthy, staying fit and reducing stress to advice on chronic disease management. We have many articles and recipes to help support a healthy heart.
Please call 911 if you have an emergency or urgent medical question.
Already a Henry Ford patient?
For the best experience, existing Henry Ford patients can request and self-schedule appointments through Henry Ford MyChart.
Henry Ford Health is committed to ensuring our Deaf or hard-of-hearing patients and visitors have equal access to all services. We provide the appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including qualified sign language interpreters, TTYs and other assistive listening devices, at no cost. To request assistance, call 313-916-1896 or email [email protected].