Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : April 22, 2015 4:47 PM IST
Aloke Kumar Gupta, a retired marketing professional, 65, was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 35 years old. He depended on pills to keep his sugar levels in check and avoid complications of diabetes. While everything seemed fine on the surface, he suffered from recurring episodes of unconsciousness about a year ago, which worried him. A through check-up with his cardiologist and a series of tests like the ECG, echo gram, tilt table test and Holter could not ascertain the exact cause of the problem. However, unable to come to any conclusion, his doctor offered him an option to use an external loop recorder or ELR to record his heart beats for seven days at a stretch. On the sixth day after wearing the devise he again experienced a black out and became unconscious for eight to nine seconds. The device as promised recorded his heart rate. His pulse rate during the blackout came down to 20, a fatal condition which could have claimed his life. Soon he was taken to a hospital and a pacemaker was fitted to save his life. If it was not for the ELR device nobody could have known that Gupta suffered from abnormal heart rhythms or cardiac arrhythmia and was in need of immediate medical intervention. Here is all that you need to know about this unique heart condition.
What is cardiac arrhythmia?
Cardiac arrhythmia is a condition where the heartbeat becomes irregular, making the heart beat either too fast or too slow. The condition is usually characterised by irregular heartbeats, palpitations, dizziness, unconsciousness and discomfort in the chest. However, people suffering from this condition might have a normal heart rate when the symptoms don't set in. This makes it a bit difficult for the condition to get diagnosed before it becomes severe, as in the case above.
How does ELR or Event Loop Recorder help?
An ELR is a device that records a patient s heart rate for up to seven days at a stretch and gives an accurate measure of the function and problems of the heart that go unnoticed in other tests.
Why is an ELR more effective than other monitoring tests like ECG, echo test or Holter?
An ECG monitors the heart for a few minutes or seconds. It can detect arrhythmias that occur in those few seconds. But there are patients with infrequent short-duration transient symptoms, recurring over days, and these are unlikely to be diagnosed by the conventional ECG or even a Holter monitoring that monitors the heart for 24-48 hours. An echo test on the other hand, does not record the patient s ECG, but rather detects blockages or physical abnormalities in the patient s heart. An echo test cannot be used to diagnose cardiac arrhythmia. Did you know, arrhythmia could be a genetic issue for you.
An ELR has the capability to monitor a patient for a long duration, for up to 7 days, and hence, has a higher chance of providing a diagnosis to patients whose symptoms occur infrequently.
How does the ELR work?
The ELR system, developed by Medtronic, primarily consists of two parts - a patch called PiiX and a cellular transmitter called zLink. The patch is like a large band-aid that is simply put on the chest of the patient and the transmitter or zLink, the size of a mobile phone can either be worn by the patient on a belt or placed within nine meters of the patient to enable transmission. The patch records arrhythmia episodes and wirelessly transmits them to the transmitter, which relays the recordings to an ECG monitoring centre through a sim card enabled cellular network. The system monitors the heartbeat function of the patient 24 hours for the prescribed time. At the end of the prescribed period, the monitoring centre sends the diagnostic reports to the physician for final diagnosis. Here are few heart healthy diet tips for you to follow.
What are the limitations of this device?
The ELR can be used for a single use for a maximum of up to 7 days. In case the arrhythmia does not get detected within that, another patch may be used for another 7 days, and in this manner the patient can be monitored for a maximum of 30 days with an ELR. Any monitoring for a longer period will require an implantable recorder. Also, the system has not been fully evaluated for use with infants weighing less than 22 lbs or 9 kg.
Who are advised to use this device?
ELR is highly recommended for patients with infrequent short-duration transient symptoms, recurring over weeks or months. These could be unexplained fainting, infrequent or transient fast heart beats, etc.
Image source: Medtronic
For more articles on Diseases & Conditions, visit our Diseases & Conditions section. For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter.
Disclaimer: The content on TheHealthSite.com is only for informational purposes. It is not at all professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a healthcare specialist for any questions regarding your health or a medical condition.
