Remote monitoring
- by Tin heart
- 2023-01-29 21:25:22
- General Posting
- 240 views
- 13 comments
Will i get useful information from remote monitoring, implant was in December
13 Comments
Remote monitoring
by AgentX86 - 2023-01-30 01:13:23
Each country is different. I don't know what the rules are in Canada but I'd guess they're similar to the US.
At least here, you can't get the data directly. Your PM's manufacturer isn't your medical professional so can't give medical information. You are (in the US) allowed access to any information in your medical history. IOW, the information is available from the cardiologist (and in practical terms, the device tech). We have to ask, though.
As others have said, the frequency of interrogations depends on your doctors and your condition. Some need constant (daily) monitoring and others every three or six months. I was on a three month remote and three month in-person (alternated). I noticed that I'm more like monthly for the remotes now.
I have a smart phone app that tells me when the next transmission is going to be and a history of past interrogations (just the day and time, no data). I can also send one whenever I think it necessary. I did it three times this weekend (one was an "oops"). Those were the first ones I've done other than the original test to see if it's all working.
The smart phone app works great but it is a real battery hog and it has to run continuously. It monitors the PM and will send data if there is anything seriously wrong.
yes and no
by Tracey_E - 2023-01-30 08:52:11
I don't get anything from it except an email from my ep's office that all is well. My doctor gets lots of info from it. It also saves me trips to the office. If something is up, I push the button. Before home monitors, I had to meet the rep at my doctor's office any time we wanted a download. Saves a lot of time for everyone!
Not necessarily
by Penguin - 2023-01-30 11:25:46
It depends on what you agree with your EP. If you want specific information you can request it in the UK as it is your right to see any medical information which is held by a hospital.
As to whether or not it is useful I can't answer that as it depends what you want to know. Remote monitoring will not tell you as much as a clinic download, but you will get recognition and analysis of any event that you report to the monitoring service if the device's ECG picks it up.
Remote monitoring is really for reporting events as they happen and for keeping the doctor and patient linked up in case of emergency / events / symptoms between appointments.
I don't find it very useful at all and find the box under the bed a pain because it has a bright green light which keeps me awake.
Since Covid I expect most hospitals will be using them more. I prefer personal contact.
bright green light
by new to pace.... - 2023-01-30 12:22:53
many keep mentioning the bright green light on our bedside monitor. Mine is lit during the day time hours or when a light is on at night. Otherwise during the darkness it is off.
new to pace
Monitor Alerts
by Marybird - 2023-01-30 13:41:33
My pacemaker monitor ( Abbott Merlin @ Home) is programmed to send a report to the Abbott secure website ( from there to the monitoring company/ doctor's office) every 91 days. I have been notified via phone calls from the cardiologist's office on three occasion regarding results on those reports. The first two were for "excess mode switching, indicating short episodes of atrial tachycardia they told me were short runs of A-Fib. They called me with instructions to increase the amount of metoprolol tartrate I take. The third time they called was to inform me they had gotten an alert ( probably outside the normal 91 day scheduled reports) of several A-Fib episodes lasting 2-3 hours each. That time they instructed me to come into the office and see the cardiologist, who handed me a diagnosis of A-Fib and a prescription for Eliquis.
I don't get any results from those remote reports routinely, though I could get them if I contacted their pacemaker tech and asked her. I think those reports are good, nothing out of range for the most part, though I am aware of the short runs of tachycardia/A-Fib occasionally, but they last less than a minute generally and I don't worry about them. These would continue to show up on remote reports, but I'm not expecting any notification from the doc's office for these as they have already done what needed done with those ( increase in medication, anticoagulation after the longer episodes), and I'm not in any distress with those, they aren't frequent and don't last long, so there is no action needed from them.
bright lights
by Tracey_E - 2023-01-30 21:24:06
I keep my monitor wrapped in a towel under my bed. It works fine from there, it just has to be within 10 feet of where we sleep.
Monitor size
by Tinawired - 2023-01-31 23:53:18
I just had my Medtronic pm replaced on January 13 and now have an Abbott Assurity. The monitor just got shipped to me and I'm surprised how big it is. Its bigger than the Medtronic home monitor I had back in 2010! My last Medtronic home monitor was just a bit bigger than a cell phone and worked with my cell phone. Does anyone have a smaller monitor from Abbott? I don't want to leave it on my nightstand 24/7. I might call Abbott tomorrow and also my cardiologist. I would rather just set it up when they want a report.
Monitor Size
by Marybird - 2023-02-02 10:56:31
It sounds as though you're the proud owner of a new Abbott/St. Jude Merlin@ Home monitor. I have a St. Jude Assurity pacemaker as well and one of those monitors and agree, it's pretty large- at approx 8" by 11" it does dominate the scene on a nightstand if you put it there, that is where mine is located.
I'm not aware of a smaller Abbott monitor for these pacemakers, I've looked on their website, they do offer a phone app monitor but its for other devices, not the Assurity or Endurity pacemakers.
The Merlin@Home monitors are intended to be paired and to communicate wirelessly with blue tooth enabled pacemakers, so your pacemaker sends data ( generally in the wee hours of the night) to the monitor. The monitor will send data via its cell phone connection to the secured website maintained by Abbott, where it's available to your doctor/clinic. This data will be sent from the monitor at intervals programmed by your doc/pacemaker clinic, or at times parameters or incidents ( with either the pacemaker or your heart) fall outside the limits set by your pacemaker tech. This monitoring also includes notification to your doctor/ clinic in the event of an incident for which they have set up the notification.
Keeping your monitor in a box or put away, and set up only at times when you need or are instructed to send a transmission would defeat the purpose of the ongoing monitoring for which you received your monitor, so it wouldn't be recommended. In the event you had a random incident ( like an arrhythmia or a incident where you'd want to send a transmission), you'd have to set up the monitor, let it go through its reset, calibration etc song and dance when it's plugged back in, takes a couple minutes and that can be lost time if you're trying to transmit an event while it is occurring.
You can set up the monitor anywhere within about 10 feet of where you sleep, where it won't be disturbed, turn it on and forget it for the most part. I think Tracey E has a Merlin monitor ( if I recall right) and says she keeps hers under her bed wrapped in a towel, and that seems to work for her- note, it'd be turned on, not just stored there. That might also work for you if you have the room under your bed. I have a platform bed so my monitor won't fit under my bed standing up, and I don't want to lay it on its side ( don't know if that would affect its function or cell phone transmission)
So mine's on my nightstand, and I cover the green on light LED by draping a sock over it. I can tell you after 3.5 years with this pacemaker and monitor, I have gotten to where I don't notice or pay much attention to the monitor anymore.
merlins
by Tracey_E - 2023-02-04 17:02:31
Yes they are big and the lights are bright. They only need to be within 10' of us so it's not necessary to have it on the nightstand. Mine lives under the bed.
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Useful info
by Lavender - 2023-01-29 21:32:47
I have a monitor beside my bed. It checks the parameters set by the cardiologist. It also does a remote check every six months. I see the cardiologist pacemaker clinic the other six months alternatively. If something would go wrong, the monitor lets the doctor know. Then they let me know. In almost two years now since I received my pacemaker, I've never had any alerts.