Mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) is a cardiac monitoring method that uses a small portable device to monitors a patient’s cardiac activity. It records the patient’s heartbeat as they run errands, exercise, and sleep. How exactly does it work, though? How is the data captured and what happens if their heart starts beating too fast, or they feel a few palpitations? We’ve put together a summary of what happens when a physician prescribes an MCT monitor:

The setup

When a physician orders an MCT device for a patient, they’ll also register the patient with their cardiac monitoring provider. The patient will either have the electrodes connected while they are in the office, or the MCT device will be delivered to the patient’s home and the patient will connect the electrodes themselves. The process is not difficult and easy to understand instructions accompany the device.

Once the patient is ready, the monitoring system’s office will activate the MCT device. A baseline test will be collected from the patient, and the information will be sent wirelessly across the mobile network. As soon as the test results are successfully received and confirmed, the patient is free to go about their day.

Beat-to-beat analysis

Some MCT systems feature beat-to-beat analysis, which captures every heartbeat that aggregates over a 24-hour period. No data is ever lost, even when the patient wanders out of the network’s range. In that case, the device will store the data until the patient enters back into range. With access to this level of data, physicians are able to make the most accurate and confident diagnosis.

The mobile cardiac telemetry device is also able to record patient-activated or symptomatic tests, where the patient is able to manually push a button and enter the symptoms when they feel them. The device also auto-triggers for bradycardia, tachycardia, pauses, or atrial fibrillation (AFib).

The data collected through the continuous electrocardiogram is being transmitted to the monitoring center and is reviewed by professionally trained staff, who are looking for any abnormalities as they occur.

Reporting heart behavior

Any symptomatic or auto-triggered events are analyzed as they are received by the monitoring center. In addition, the patient’s full disclosure data is reviewed for onsets and offsets of elusive arrhythmias that may not have been felt by the patient, or any other anomalies. They also quantify AFibs and pauses, calculating the percentages of tachycardia, bradycardia, and compiling a comprehensive list of calculations. Once the study is complete, an end of study report is created and sent to the physician.

MCT is one of the most effective methods of cardiac monitoring. The ability to analyze every heartbeat with little interference to the patient’s normal day, and the opportunity to initiate an immediate emergency response as needed, makes it one of the most attractive choices in today’s market. It delivers advantages to both the patient and the physician that can lead to more efficient care.