Facts on Heart Monitors

Doctors use heart monitors to record patients' heart rhythms while they are doing normal activities. They prescribe heart monitors after an initial physical examination discovers some abnormality in the heart. However, people experiencing sudden conditions may also have to wear heart monitors. In order to get good records of heart rhythms, patients have to wear heart monitors for 24 to 48 hours.

Heart Attacks

• Heart monitors are used on heart attack patients to make sure they are not suffering from heart rhythm malfunctions and to see if heart medication is working correctly.

Atrial Fibrillation

• The U.S. National Library of Medicine says heart monitors check for atrial fibrillations, a condition that causes the heart's electrical conduction system to misfire.

Heart Palpitations

• Medical professionals use heart monitors in patients suffering from heart palpitations to make sure that they are not suffering from any underlying heart disorders.

Fainting

• The U.S. National Library of Medicine states that medical personnel use heart monitors in fainting victims who don't have injuries that would cause the fainting.

Rapid Heart Rate

• Heart monitors track people with rapid heart rates to make sure they are not suffering from serious conditions like heart failure.

Ventricular Tachycardia

• Ventricular tachycardia is a condition in which the heart beat starts in the ventricles, usually resulting from a pulse of more than 100 beats per minute. This condition is common in people experiencing heart failure or those who have had heart surgery and is monitored with heart monitors.