First full day with the new style heart monitor

[Clipper]

I had a cardiologist appointment yesterday and he scheduled me for an echocardiogram the first week of October. He also wanted me to wear a monitor for three days.

I have worn the old fashioned Holter monitor before with all the wires and sticker all over my chest. Very inconvenient to say the least.

I was pleasantly surprises when the nurse came in to put the monitor on me. She shaved my upper left chest area and unwrapped this small device that requires no wires. It is an electonic device of some sort that is about an inch and a half square with two flexible wings that contain electrodes. They glue it to your chest and when you have worn it for the desired amount of time you simply slowly peel it away from your chest, stick it to a provided card, place it in the provided mailer box and mail it to a lab in Illinois that will read it and send the results to my doctor.

The only restriction is that I have to cover it with saran wrap taped around the edges if I want to take a shower, and stand with your back to the shower head in order to keep any water from getting to the device. I told Kathy I will just wash at the sink for the next couple of days. It is so much easier than dealing with trying to sleep with all those wires hooked up to electrodes and to a monitor device.

We are bowling at 1:30 on our senior league. It will certainly enable me to bowl. With the wired monitor it would have been difficult.

[clarencebunsen]

I recently completed a session with one of those. No results back yet. my biggest complaint was that it itched like crazy when the hair started growing back. I get dizzy when I lie down and when I get up so obviously positional. The only other time I pushed the button was when I carried a flat of water bottles down to the basement for storage.

[Clipper]

I thought it was a pretty cool advance in technology. They told me to push the button if I got short of breath or had chest pain. I don't anticipate having to push it but anything is possible or they wouldn't have needed to monitor me.

I have had zero symptoms since I was in the hospital. but I have been careful not to over exert.

[clarencebunsen]

Two reasons I had it. I get dizzy when I lie down and sit up. That has been going on forever. Barb got out her stethoscope the last time I had a cold and said my heart sounds had changed. That probably counted more than anything. It will be interesting if the monitor detects anything.

[Clipper]

Kathy gets light headed when she has been laying on the couch and sits up too quickly. They checked her carotids with a stethoscope and said they were clear. and did the echo. She sees the doctor next week and will get a full explanation of the echo results.