How Does an implantable cardiac monitor help with AFib

How Does an Implantable Cardiac Monitor Help with aFib?

Atrial Fibrillation, or Afib for short, is a growing concern around the world. The CDC reported it to be associated with over 183,000 death certificates in 2019 and about 11 years later, they predict that upwards of 12 million American people will have the condition. As Afib cases continue to rise, medical solutions are beginning to head in the way of implantable cardiac monitors. How are these life-saving devices turning the tide in the Afib war? Can they really make a difference in terms of care quality and improving health outcomes? We answer these and more questions as we deep dive into cardiac implant monitoring services and Afib. 

What is an implantable cardiac monitor (ICM)? 

Before we continue any further, let’s discuss the elephant in the room first: implantable cardiac monitors. What are they exactly? Well, the term refers to a range of devices that usually enable arrhythmia detection by depicting the electrical acidity or patterns of the heart. They include devices such as: 

• A holter monitor: It’s a little bulkier than most ICMs and contains visible leads or wires that attach to various parts of your abdomen
• Implantable loop recorders
• Phase makers
• HF 
• ICD or implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and more

Afib is a condition where the heart beats overly fast and irregularly, and implantable cardiac monitors can help better track this activity for various reasons as you’ll soon find out below. 

How ICMs chip in to help Afib patients: 

Early detection of Afib for asymptomatic patients 

Atrial fibrillation can manifest with or without symptoms. And it’s the latter case that is particularly alarming. Fortunately, that’s where long-term implant monitoring services prove effective.

Today ICMs boast excellent accuracy in terms of Afib detection performance. This has been aided no doubt by the advances of artificial intelligence, which has enabled the imploration of intelligent algorithms that are able to differentiate the real deal from false positive episodes. Most of these types of algorithms are founded upon the determination of QRS signals and can help even pick out various in such cycles thus giving hints for the classification of an arrhythmia depending on the personalised patient report summary.

In a nutshell, the high accuracy of ICMs makes them an invaluable tool when detecting asymptomatic Afib, thus ensuring early clinical intervention which improves the quality of life for an Afib patient. 

Fast heart failure risk determinations

For Afib patients, the single most leading cause of fatality is heart failure. Over time, the effects of atrial fibrillation can build and pile up. As your heart overexerts itself, it begins to lose its strength. When heart muscles grow weak, blood circulation is also compromised. In the end, your body’s needs in terms of oxygen and nutrients grow unmet

However, a cardiac implant monitoring service can help get ahead of this problem. That’s because as the symptoms of HF decompensation begin to show, the data the ICMs provides ensures technicians get wind of the situation as soon as it develops and, crucially, before things take a turn for the worse. Studies by the Cardiovascular Institute indicate the technology can improve clinical event detection time by almost 80%

Fewer trips to the doctor’s office

In the traditional order of things, Afib and arrhythmia patients in general had to physically check in with their doctors from time to time to get various parameters examined.  That includes metrics such as: 

• Heart activity by way of ECGs
• Blood pressure
• Weight, etc

Now ICMs and remote patient monitoring systems make it possible for all of this data and much more to be recorded from a distance. In fact, it’s even possible to delve deeper and assess intracardiac pressures remotely. 

Overall, with the transmission, as well as collection of clinical data, being able to occur remotely, Afib patients now have fewer reasons for an in-person visit. Of course, such appointments are necessary from time to time just for good measure, but their frequency drastically reduces when cardiac implant monitoring services are in the equation. 

Decreased risk of patient hospitalisation 

A good number of Afib hospitalizations often stem from heart failure. In fact, such incidences are still quite rampant today in Afib patients but a lot can be done with RPM, and implant cardiac monitoring especially. 

Given how ICMs enable the prompt identification of heart failure, then the condition can be averted before it gets to the point of hospitalisation. Moreover, recent research has also linked ICMs, in conjunction with remote cardiac monitoring, to a 65% drop in Afib admissions. This saves patients from unnecessary expenses, worry, and time. 

Afib patients can receive safer care if admitted

In the unfortunate event that an Afib patient is admitted, ICM, in collaboration with a larger RPM ecosystem, still has plenty to offer. For example, the coronavirus pandemic has affected conventional procedures as far as heart failure clinicians are concerned. For instance, there has been a revision of physical examination processes, which are carried out regularly to examine changing symptoms. 

With the aforementioned technology on the side of HF clinicians, however, physicians can revitalise their model and still negate decompensation and progression without having to rely on traditional models. Virtual visits and remote heart vital check-ups can be excellent stands in, keeping Afib patients safe from new infection exposure while still ensuring round-the-clock monitoring. 

Access world-class implant monitoring services at Techindia

Atrial fibrillation leads the charts in terms of being the most prevalent form of arrhythmia in this day and age. Many studies link it to the lowering of life quality while it can also, in the long run, increase heart failure, stroke, and other adverse health outcomes. It is consequently vital that Afib is nipped in the bud before it gets to the latter, and a cardiac implantable monitoring service is just what is necessary. Clinical practices around the world are increasingly reliant on ICMs in the fight against atrial fibrillation, and for great reason. Partner with Techindia today to get compliant and expert implant monitoring services for your facility. Call us today to begin arrangements.