14 Day Holter Demonstrates Higher Clinical Utility
A recent study in San Francisco released the finding of a new study findings that demonstrate the clinical utility of the 14 Day Holter for detecting cardiac arrhythmias in patients following the release from the Emergency room discharge from the hospital emergency department (ED). The findings from the study are said to be available in the March issue of the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine.
The new study was designed to assist clinicians with the diagnosis of the millions of patients that are admitted to the emergency room each year for non-specific symptoms that can potentially be related to cardiac arrhythmias. The report suggests that a long term 14 day continuous Holter Monitor ( in this case worn as a patch) can improve the detection of such arrhythmias compared to the 24 hour traditional Holter Monitoring study.
The results of the study conducted with 174 patients demonstrate a diagnostic yield of 63% with the 14 day Holter Monitor versus only 15% for the 24 hour Holter Monitor. Further, the average time to the first detected significant arrhythmia was 3.1 for ventricular tachycardia and 4.2 days for a significant pause. These finding demonstrate that the detection of these potentially dangerous arrhythmias occured outside the time frame of a traditional Holter Monitor suggesting a longer monitoring period can possibly improve higher prognostic value when used upon the discharge of patients that leave the emergency room.
