Sudden cardiac death is an extremely dangerous cardiovascular disease. The one-time ECG cannot effectively capture accurate data for diagnosis, while a Holter monitor can provide continuous data for up to 24 hours.
To put it simply, it only takes seconds to do an electrocardiogram, which has only a dozen heartbeats recorded. If arrhythmia does not appear in these seconds, the ECG test cannot capture it. It does not mean there is no problem with our hearts. The first use of Holter is to detect various arrhythmias.
Whether it’s bradycardia or tachycardia, it doesn’t last for a whole day. It’s episodic. We cannot predict when it happens. And we can even not go to the hospital in time for checking when we have the symptoms because it may last only seconds. With what we said above, it is not difficult for us to know the significance of the dynamic electrocardiogram!
What is the function of doing a dynamic electrocardiogram?
A Holter monitor can provide continuous data for up to 24 hours. Thus, its role mainly has the following two points:
To capture occasional, short bursts of ECG abnormalities
In daily life, some of us may often have symptoms like chest tightness, pain, or syncope, which is similar to the symptoms of heart disease, which are not recorded for diagnoses.
In these conditions, the Holter ECG test can capture occasional, short-term paroxysmal arrhythmias so that patients can be diagnosed and treated. It is one of the most widely used cases of Holter monitoring.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of arrhythmia
For some arrhythmias that have been found in routine examinations, whose potential risks are not yet fully clarified, we can use the Holter ECG for future checking. With a large amount of information, we can analyze the type of arrhythmia, frequency of occurrence, and degree of risk.
What do we need to pay attention to when doing a dynamic ECG?
1) Keep our activities as usual
During the test, we can have exercise properly because most of the suspected angina pectoris are caused by intense exercise, so it is convenient to observe the relationship between exercise and myocardial ischemia and arrhythmia for diagnosis.
2) Keep the skin dry instead of wet
The electrodes are attached to the skin of the front chest during the test. If the skin is wet, it may cause a poor connection between electrode and skin, or even cause the electrodes to fall off. It is better not to take a bath and avoid sweating on the examination day.
3) Keep a diary
The recording is helpful for the Holter ECG assessment. We can record the time when we feel uncomfortable or have exercise. Our doctors can check the ECG waves during these periods to evaluate our status.
source:https://www.youmai-medical.com/2022/01/what-can-holter-ecg-do.html
