24-Hour Holter Monitoring - Access Health Care Physicians, LLC
A Holter monitor is a small, battery-operated medical device that measures your heart's activity, such as rate and rhythm. Your doctor may ask you to use one if they need more information about how your heart works compared to a regular electrocardiogram (EKG). Twenty-four-hour Holter monitoring is a continuous test to record your heart rate and rhythm for 24 hours. You wear a Holter monitor for 12 to 48 hours as per your normal routine. This device has electrodes and electrical leads like a regular EKG, but with fewer leads. It can capture not only your heart rate and rhythm, but also when you feel chest pain or exhibit symptoms of an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia. The Holter monitor test is also sometimes called ambulatory electrocardiography. There are other types of equipment that can be used to measure heart activity over a long period of time.