title: Current and emerging indications for implantable cardiac monitors.
abstract: Implantable cardiac monitors (ICMs) continuously monitor the patient's electrocardiogram and perform real-time analysis of the heart rhythm, for up to 36 months. The current clinical use of ICMs involves the evaluation of transitory symptoms of possible arrhythmic origin, such as unexplained syncope and palpitations. Moreover, ICMs can also be used for the evaluation of difficult cases of epilepsy and unexplained falls, though current indications for their application in these sectors are less clearly defined. Finally, the ability of new-generation ICMs to automatically record arrhythmic episodes suggests that these devices could also be used to study asymptomatic arrhythmias, and thus could be proposed for the long-term evaluation of the total (symptomatic and asymptomatic) arrhythmic burden in patients at risk of arrhythmic events. In particular, ICMs may have an emerging role in the management of patients with atrial fibrillation and in those at risk of ventricular arrhythmias.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Department, General Hospitals, Noale-Mirano, Venice, Italy. francogiada@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giada
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bertaglia
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reimers
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Noventa
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raviele
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000639:trends*