Monitoring of Cardiac Devices

Remote monitoring enables healthcare providers to check your heart rhythm and cardiac device between office visits.

What is Remote Monitoring?

Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), can send information from the device to a portable unit (a transceiver) in the patient’s home.

Data from the transceiver is then sent to a monitoring clinic, which will alert your doctor if anything is unusual, such as an arrhythmia.

This process—relaying data from the device to the transceiver to the monitoring clinic to the doctor’s office—is known as remote monitoring.

Your doctor’s office will contact you to discuss any abnormal data received from your cardiac device. Your doctor may schedule a follow up office visit based on information from the transmission.

Remote monitoring serves 3 important functions:

1. To make sure your device is working correctly.
2. To allow your healthcare team to monitor your heart rhythm between office visits.
3. To provide information to your healthcare team when you are having symptoms so that a diagnosis can be made.

Few Office Visits

For many patients, remote monitoring provides convenience without compromising their healthcare or treatment. With remote monitoring of your heart and your cardiac device, you may need fewer in-person visits with your doctor. Your doctor will schedule your in-person visits based on your individual needs rather than a standard schedule.

Remote monitoring of your implantable cardiac device is equivalent to a daily in-person device check at your clinic.