The Bluetooth “Sleuth” Mobile EKG Monitor

Medical researchers estimate that up to 35 percent of all Americans suffer at least one episode of Syncope during their lifetime. What is Syncope, you may ask? It is a sudden loss of consciousness, which starts out as light-headedness, weakness and dizziness. While recovery is quick, the signs of onset are unpredictable, which can impair Syncope sufferer’s quality of life.

Since symptoms most often occur when a person’s blood pressure suddenly drops, it is believed that cardiac syncope is the result of a heart abnormality, such as arrhythmia, valve disease, or a blockage.

While Syncope can also be caused by intense anxiety, dehydration, hunger, alcohol and drug use, or other medical conditions, about 20 percent of all cases are heart related. When heart problems are suspected, patients undergo EKG and exercise stress tests and will often wear a 24-hour monitor to record heart rhythms over longer periods of time.

Earlier this year, the FDA approved a tool, known as the Sleuth AT Cardiac Monitoring System, which can help physicians diagnose Syncope. The Sleuth is actually a small EKG recorder, which is smaller than a half-dollar. It is implanted beneath the skin in the upper left chest, and measures the electrical activity of the heart. The recorded information is then stored and retrieved on a Personal Diagnostic Manager, which is a small recorder that can be carried in a handbag or pocket.

Traditional implantable EKG recording devices store information for later retrieval at the doctor’s office, or require manual downloading on a home computer. But the Sleuth makes use of Bluetooth technology to transmit data to a patient’s home base station. From there, the information is transmitted to a monitoring center which is staffed by cardiac technicians, where doctors can access it through a secure web site. Using the Sleuth EKG monitor can assure a patient that their doctor will be alerted immediately of any serious problems.

Technorati Tags: ecg, ECG Machines, EKG, ekg machine, EKG Machines