Cardiac monitoring can help your doctor determine if you have an irregular heartbeat and what type. Unlike other methods of monitoring, an insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) can track your heartbeat long-term, if necessary.
Use our list of questions to help guide a conversation with your doctor.
A heart’s rhythm (heartbeat) is normally between 60 to 100 beats per minute. If your heart beats slower or faster than 60 to 100 beats per minute—or has gaps in the rhythm—you may have an irregular heartbeat called an arrhythmia (pronounced uh-RITH-me-uh).
Bradycardia
A slow heartbeat of fewer than 60 beats per minute.
Tachycardia
A fast heartbeat of more than 100 beats per minute.
Pause
A gap in your regular heartbeat, when your heart does not beat for a few seconds.
Atrial Fibrillation (AFib)
A heartbeat that beats chaotically and/or irregularly.
Atrial Fibrillation, or AFib for short, is the most common type of irregular heartbeat. Unlike other types of arrhythmias, you may not always notice symptoms of AFib. This makes an accurate diagnosis even more valuable. Your doctor may suggest cardiac monitoring to help take steps toward a diagnosis.
Because an irregular heartbeat can come and go, diagnosis can be tricky. While other methods of heart monitoring only record your heartbeat for up to a month, an ICM—like the small and slim Abbott Assert-IQ™ ICM—can monitor continuously for up to 6 years.
An ICM—also referred to as a loop recorder—goes under the skin near your heart. The procedure is minimally invasive. The ICM will do all the work for you, and many patients do not even know it is there.
Small patches (electrodes) are placed on your chest and attached to a recording monitor that you carry around. This monitor can record your heartbeat for up to two days.
This external monitor is attached to your skin and can be worn for up to for 30 days.
Fitness wearables and smartwatches may be able to display a short history of your heart rhythm.
Using a wearable may help determine if you should speak to your doctor about more detailed and consistent monitoring with a device such as an ICM.
ICMs monitor your heart continuously without interrupting your lifestyle.
Assert-IQ ICM is a slim insertable monitor, available in a device with a longer battery life option than any other ICM. The battery longevity means that patients can use the device longer before needing it to be replaced. With Bluetooth®-enabled technology and the easy-to-use myMerlin Mobile App, your heartbeat can be continuously monitored by your doctor for faster decision making.*
After your ICM is placed and paired with the myMerlin Mobile App, the app securely sends your heart rhythm data automatically to your clinic. Abbott was the first to introduce a device that utilized Bluetooth® technology for the rapid transmission of results to your doctor without having to travel to the clinic.
The myMerlin Mobile App lets your doctor see when your heart starts beating differently. You can also capture your own symptoms with the app when something does not seem right.
* Compared to predicate ICM devices.
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