Cardiac Monitoring in Florida: Holter, Event & Long-Term Monitors
Some heart rhythm problems only reveal themselves when you’re going about your everyday life — walking the dog, sleeping, cooking dinner, or sitting in a stressful meeting. A 12-lead EKG taken in the clinic captures just 10 seconds of your heart’s electrical activity. Cardiac monitoring extends that window to 24 hours, 14 days, or even longer — giving your cardiologist a much clearer picture of what’s actually happening with your heart rhythm between appointments.
Why Does Your Cardiologist Want You Monitored?
Cardiac monitoring is ordered when your symptoms — palpitations, dizziness, near-fainting, unexplained shortness of breath, or racing heartbeat — don’t occur predictably enough to be captured during a clinic visit. The goal is correlation: matching a symptom you’re experiencing at home to what your heart’s electrical activity looks like at that exact moment. That correlation is what allows your cardiologist to make a definitive diagnosis and design the right treatment.
Once the catheter reaches your coronary arteries, a special contrast dye is injected. This dye shows up on X-ray and allows your interventional cardiologist to see exactly where — and how significantly — blood flow is being blocked. This imaging is called a coronary angiogram.
At FHVI, we perform cardiac catheterizations at our dedicated cath labs in Ocala (SW 17th Street and Lake Weir Avenue) and Davenport. You don’t have to wait for a hospital scheduling slot — most patients can be seen within the same week of referral.
Types of Cardiac Monitoring We Offer
Holter Monitor (24–48 Hours)
A Holter monitor is a small, wearable device — about the size of a deck of cards — that you clip to your belt or wear around your neck. Small adhesive electrode patches are placed on your chest and connected to the device via thin wires. It records your heart’s electrical activity continuously for 24 to 48 hours while you go about your normal daily activities.
While wearing the monitor, you’ll keep a simple diary noting the time of any symptoms (palpitations, chest tightness, dizziness). Your cardiologist compares the diary entries to the recorded rhythm strip to identify exactly what your heart was doing when you felt unwell.
Important: Don’t get the monitor wet — no showering, bathing, or swimming while it’s attached. Everything else in your routine should continue as normal.
Extended Holter / Patch Monitor (7–14 Days)
For patients whose symptoms occur less frequently — perhaps a few times per week rather than daily — a standard 48-hour Holter may not be long enough to capture an event. Extended patch monitors adhere directly to the chest with no wires and record continuously for 7–14 days. They’re waterproof, discreet, and more comfortable for longer monitoring periods.
Cardiac Event Monitor (30 Days)
If your symptoms are infrequent — perhaps once a week or less — a 30-day event monitor gives you a much wider diagnostic window. Unlike a Holter, an event monitor isn’t recording continuously. Instead, it has two modes: you press a button when you feel symptoms (patient-triggered), or the device automatically detects and records rhythm abnormalities (auto-triggered). Recorded events are transmitted wirelessly to a monitoring center, and your FHVI cardiologist receives an alert for clinically significant findings.
Implantable Loop Recorder (Up to 3 Years)
For patients with very infrequent but potentially serious symptoms — unexplained fainting, stroke of undetermined cause, or suspected rare arrhythmia — an implantable loop recorder (ILR) is a small device inserted just under the skin of the chest in a brief outpatient procedure. It records continuously for up to three years and wirelessly transmits rhythm data automatically. This is the most powerful tool available for catching arrhythmias that occur very rarely.
What to Expect When You're Set Up for Cardiac Monitoring at FHVI
- Same-day setup: In most cases, you’ll receive your monitor at your appointment with your cardiologist. The setup takes 10–15 minutes.
- Electrode placement: Small adhesive patches are placed on specific positions on your chest. The skin may be lightly abraded to ensure good contact.
- Your activity diary: You’ll receive a simple form or app to note timestamps for any symptoms. This is one of the most important parts of the process — accurate diary entries help your cardiologist make the correlation between symptoms and rhythm.
- Return and analysis: After your monitoring period, you’ll return the device (or for wireless monitors, the data is transmitted automatically). Your cardiologist’s team will analyze the full recording and identify any significant rhythm abnormalities.
- Results appointment: Your cardiologist will review findings with you and discuss what they mean for your diagnosis and treatment plan.
Conditions Cardiac Monitoring Can Detect
- Atrial fibrillation (AFib) — especially paroxysmal (intermittent) AFib that comes and goes
- Atrial flutter
- Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
- Ventricular tachycardia (VT)
- Heart block and bradycardia
- Premature atrial or ventricular contractions (PACs/PVCs) — and their frequency
- Sick sinus syndrome
- Pauses or long gaps in the heartbeat causing near-fainting or fainting
Frequently Asked Questions: Cardiac Monitoring
A: No. A standard Holter monitor must be kept completely dry — no showering, bathing, or swimming for the duration of the monitoring period. If you’re wearing a 24-hour Holter, that’s one day without a shower. For longer monitoring, ask about waterproof patch monitors, which allow normal showering and are much more practical for extended wear.
A: Don’t worry. Most cardiac event monitors have an automatic detection feature that captures and stores significant rhythm abnormalities even if you don’t press the button. The patient-triggered recordings are valuable for your symptom diary correlation, but the device is also monitoring passively the whole time.
A: A normal Holter result is valuable information, but it means we didn’t capture your arrhythmia during those 24–48 hours — not necessarily that no arrhythmia exists. If your symptoms continue, the next step is typically extended monitoring: a 14-day patch monitor or 30-day event monitor to widen the diagnostic window. Your FHVI cardiologist will review your full clinical picture and recommend the most appropriate next step.
A: Most patients adjust within a few hours. The electrode patches may cause mild skin irritation, particularly over longer monitoring periods — if the adhesion becomes very uncomfortable, call us and we’ll advise you. The devices themselves are lightweight and designed to be discreet under clothing. Many patients forget they’re wearing one after the first day.
A: Holter and patch monitors record everything continuously, so they can’t ‘miss’ a rhythm — but if your arrhythmia doesn’t occur during the monitoring window, it won’t be captured. That’s why matching the monitoring duration to your symptom frequency matters. Event monitors and implantable loop recorders are specifically designed to extend that window for patients with infrequent symptoms.
A: For wireless event monitors, your FHVI cardiologist receives alerts for clinically significant rhythm events within hours of them occurring — so urgent findings are flagged quickly. For Holter and patch monitors, results are typically reviewed and communicated within 5–7 business days of returning the device.
A: It depends on how often they occur, how long they last, and whether they’re accompanied by other symptoms like dizziness, chest pain, or near-fainting. Occasional, brief palpitations in an otherwise healthy person often don’t require monitoring. Frequent, prolonged, or symptomatic palpitations — especially if they affect your quality of life or are accompanied by any concerning symptoms — absolutely warrant monitoring. Call us at (352) 572-7730 and a nurse will help triage your situation.
Book Your Cardiac Catheterization Consultation — Call (352) 572-7730