Holter at Home 24 Hrs

This test is for

Male, Female

Test Preparation

For Holter monitoring at home: A. Don't take the Holter monitor off. It must be worn during the entire recording period, even while sleeping. B. It is important to avoid bathing, showering, and swimming while you’re wearing the monitor as water can damage a Holter monitor. C. If you have a wireless Holter monitor, you can disconnect and reconnect the sensors and the monitor so that you can shower or bathe. D. Don’t apply any lotions or creams before wearing a Holter monitor. E. Magnetic and electrical fields may interfere with the function of the Holter monitor. Avoid areas of high voltage while wearing the monitor. Avoid electric blankets, electric razors and toothbrushes, magnets, metal detectors, and microwave ovens. Keep cellphones and portable music players at least 6 inches from the Holter monitor. F. Chest hair will need to be removed before the electrodes can be attached. This is because there needs to be close skin contact.

Understanding Holter at Home 24 Hrs

What is Holter at Home 24 Hrs?

A Holter monitor is a small, battery-powered medical device that measures your heart’s activity, such as rate and rhythm. Your doctor may ask you to use one if they need more information about how your heart functions than a routine electrocardiogram (ECG) can give them. Holter at Home 24 Hrs monitoring is a continuous test to record your heart’s rate and rhythm for 24 hours. You’re advised to carry out your normal activities during this test. You’ll be directed to record your activities in a notebook. This helps your doctor determine if changes in heart activity are related to your behaviors and movements.

Your doctor may advise a Holter monitoring to evaluate symptoms that may be heart-rhythm related which can include chest pain, tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fainting; to identify irregular heartbeats or palpitations; to assess your risk for future heart-related events in certain conditions like thickened heart walls (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) or after a heart attack that causes weakness of the left side of the heart. Holter at Home 24 Hrs may also be ordered to see how well a pacemaker is working; to find out how well treatment is working for complex abnormal heart rhythms; to see how fast or slow your heart rate gets during the day, and to see if you have any pauses in your heart rhythm.

Wearing the Holter monitor itself has no risks involved. However, the tape or adhesives that attach the electrodes to your skin can cause mild skin irritation in some people. Make sure to tell the technician who attaches your monitor if you’re allergic to any tapes or adhesives.

A Holter at Home 24 Hrs test is painless. However, be sure to record any chest pain, rapid heartbeat, or other cardiac symptoms you have during the testing period.