Loop Implant and Removal
Injectable Cardiac Monitors
Each heart rhythm problem needs it own precise and timely treatment. Hence, it is vital to first accurately find abnormal heart rhythms so that healthcare providers can look at the recordings to figure out the underlying cause. This is exactly where Injectable Cardiac Monitors (ICM) come in.
What are Injectable Cardiac Monitors (ICM) and are they useful?
ICM are small electrophysiology devices that are used to monitor a patient’s heart electrical activity over the long-term. It records the electronic signal of your heart and allows convenient and timely monitoring by inserting a device just underneath the skin of chest.
Simply put, ICMs can help answer questions about your heart as well as health that other devices simply cannot. This is because it captures information that other tests such as electrocardiogram (ECG), Holter monitoring, tilt-table testing, or electrophysiologic studies of your heart misses given that some heart rhythm abnormalities occur infrequently.
In case you have palpitations or fainting episodes and other tests have not yielded any results, then ICM is the go-to solution. Note that since ICMs monitor heart signal for a long time period, it is highly likely to capture how your heart is functioning before, during, and after a fainting spell for instance. This can help in diagnosis and development of an effective treatment plan.
Plus, it is invisible and does not interfere with your daily activities since it has no wires or patches of any sort. It will automatically record and transmit the electrical impulses of your heart, using wireless technology.
What to expect?
In order to inject the cardiac monitor, you’ll have to undergo a minor surgery.
Before the procedure, you don’t have to do anything out of the ordinary. It is recommended that you don’t eat or drink anything after the midnight and take a shower with anti-bacterial soap. In case you take medicines, consult with your doctor. Also, if it is feasible, then bring along someone reliable and be prepared to spend the rest of the day at the facility.
During the procedure, you will be first given a local anesthetic to numb the skin. The doctor will then make a small incision in your skin, usually in the left upper chest. Then, the device will be inserted and the incision will be carefully closed with sutures and a bandage will be put on that area.
While most procedures go on smoothly, sometime problems such as bleeding, bruising, infection, mild pain, and damage to your blood vessels may occur.
So, make sure that you get the procedure done by specialists.
Want to learn more? Here are a few links to useful information.
Loop Implant Videos
Loop Removal Videos
Devices
Medtronic
Learn about the different components included in the Reveal LINQ System and what to expect during the insertion procedure.
Medtronic
Review steps for setting up the MyCareLink(TM) Monitor and performing a manual transmission if requested by your doctor.
Medtronic
Medtronic Reveal Linq Implant – Infra-mammary approach
