What is a Holter (or event) monitor?
When symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, low blood pressure, prolonged fatigue, or palpitations continue to occur without a definitive diagnosis obtained with a resting EKG, your child’s physician may request an EKG tracing to be run over a long period of time. Certain arrhythmias (a fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat) which can cause the symptoms noted above may occur only sporadically, or may occur only under certain conditions, such as stress. Arrhythmias of this type are difficult to obtain on an EKG tracing that only runs for a few minutes. A prolonged type of EKG tracing, called a Holter monitor, provides the physician a better opportunity to capture any abnormal heartbeats or rhythms that may be causing your child’s symptoms. The Holter monitor test is used to record your child’s EKG tracing continuously for a period of 24 hours or longer. You will receive instructions on how long your child will wear the recorder (usually 24 hours, but sometimes longer), how to keep a diary o
