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Has anyone had an insertable Cardiac Monitor?
Pacemaker & ICDs | Last Active: Dec 12, 2025 | Replies (135)Comment receiving replies
Basically, it is a tiny insertable cardiac monitor that is placed subcutaneously between 3rd and 4th rib in the chest. It is about one-third the size of a AAA battery. It is called a loop recorder - which means that it records so much and then records over that. So basically, I have a 24/7 ECG inserted in my chest. I have a monitor that is at my bedside. Every night while I am asleep, the device inside me communicates with the patient monitor which is then uploaded to my physician's office. He has software that reports certain activities -- depending on how my device is programmed. It is an excellent diagnostic tool for people who experience intermittent arrhythmias, syncopal episodes or atrial fibrillation. It can be implanted for about 3 years which is the length of the battery life. If you need an MRI done, you can still get one with some special adjustments. I also have a little device which is called a Patient Assistant. If I am experiencing symptoms that I am concerned about -- I just hold the Patient Assistant over the implant and push the button. What this does is mark the reading on the device. So when the information is uploaded, it will be marked. Then I have to contact the doctor's office and let them know what I was experiencing at that time. The doctor then looks at the reading for that time period to see if the symptoms were related to an arrhythmia. The cost is about $20,000 currently but insurance does cover it. The reason it is so high is because they are most often implanted as an outpatient surgery in a hospital. My doctor is working on getting set up to do them in the office which would be a tremendous saving to the patient. The procedure to insert it is very simple -- only requiring local anesthesia. I only had to pay 10 percent so I felt like it was a cost-effective tool in my case -- to have my cardiologist monitor my heart closely for three years. The only other cost is a quarterly cost of about $120 for my physician to interpret my readings. I had a 30 day event monitor placed earlier this year -- and of course, during that 30 day period, my heart didn't have the new worrisome episodes.
Here is a link to the LINQ : http://www.medtronicdiagnostics.com/us/cardiac-monitors/reveal-linq/
Replies to "Basically, it is a tiny insertable cardiac monitor that is placed subcutaneously between 3rd and 4th..."
@jigglejaws94 - I have one but it's made by Abbott and works a bit differently than what you described. I use an app on my phone to report incidents, and the Heart Rhythm Clinic at the local hospital, where I had it implanted in February, checks that recording but apparently only about every 3 days or so. I get a notification when that has happened.
I'm in a remote area with an understaffed rural hospital, so it's often a while after that before they check the report. I notified them by sending Fitbit app screenshots when I had the first recorded AFib incidents and subsequent ones, but they called me after those and after a scary drop in my heart rate while I was asleep.
Mine was implanted to try to find out what had been causing intermittent, brief episodes of blindness in both eyes for years -- no notice as with some kinds of migraines. (I voluntarily stopped driving beyond my neighborhood so I wouldn't cause a crash and kill someone. No longer being able to drive is a life-changer, but not in a good way.) It had taken me 11 years to get any doctor to take that seriously, but the cardiologist I have now likes to solve mysteries, so she made it happen.
An MRI not long ago seems to indicate that the blindness episodes are related to my heart-pumping problems. Probably.
The implant procedure required only anesthetic and maybe something to keep me calm (but I have bradycardia, so such things are not advisable). It took maybe an hour, max.
But for the MRI, I had to confirm with Abbott that the model I have implanted is safe for those. MRIs use magnets, and the loop recorder aka implanted cardiac monitor is metal. Some models are OK for MRIs now, but only if the MRI techs use a certain one or two types of MRIs. So it's critical that all people involved need to check and double-check before the day of the MRI. Otherwise, it could be deadly. You also need to make sure that anyone doing any kind of radiology exams or surgery know you have it. I've had techs do x-rays who hadn't noticed that on my medical record. It is NOT prominent.
I've had 4 Zio "patch" tests over a few years before -- devices taped to your upper chest for 2 weeks to monitor your heart, then techs read the results. Basically, that's the same thing that the loop recorder does, although it can keep doing what it does for 3-4 years. So if a condition is serious but long time spans between episodes, that's when it's a good choice.
I'm glad I have it, because doctors now believe this happens to me and take it more seriously. I just wish they had a decade sooner, because things would almost certainly have turned out better for me and my heart.
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