An implantable loop recorder, or ILR, is a small device placed just beneath the skin of your chest. It picks up the heart's electrical signals without wires or leads entering the heart. You may also hear it called an insertable cardiac monitor.
It monitors continuously but saves only short recordings of selected episodes. These can show whether a rhythm change happened during a faint or a racing heartbeat. The recorder only collects information: it doesn't treat a slow or fast heartbeat, deliver a shock or prevent a faint.
Call triple zero (000) for severe, worsening or persistent chest pain, or chest discomfort with breathlessness, sweating, nausea or pain spreading to your arm, jaw or back.
Do not wait for a routine appointment or drive yourself to hospital.
The hospital gives you instructions about eating, drinking and medicines. Tell staff about blood thinners, diabetes medicines and allergies. Don't stop medicines unless the treating doctor has told you to. If sedation is planned, you'll need someone to take you home and stay with you as instructed.
You lie on a procedure table and are usually awake. Local anaesthetic numbs a small area of your chest; sedation may also be offered to help you relax. The doctor makes a small cut and places the recorder in a pocket just beneath the skin, then closes and dresses the wound. The recorder stays there after you leave hospital.
Staff check the recorder and explain how to use any activator, app or home transmitter. Before leaving, make sure you know who will read the recordings and how you'll receive results. Most people can go home the same day, after the hospital has checked they're ready.
A rhythm problem may come and go before you get to an appointment. An ECG records the heart's electrical activity briefly, while a wearable Holter or event monitor records it over days or weeks. If you faint only once every few months, an episode may never happen during those shorter tests.
A loop recorder stays in place between episodes, so it has more time to capture one. It may help when fainting, dizziness or palpitations remain unexplained after other checks. Palpitations are sensations of your heart racing, pounding or beating unusually. If symptoms happen often enough for a wearable monitor to capture them, an implant may be unnecessary.
In some people who've had a stroke with no clear cause, doctors use a loop recorder to look for atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that can come and go without symptoms.
The recorder can save certain abnormal rhythms automatically, even without symptoms. Depending on the model, a handheld activator or phone app also lets you mark symptoms. This saves a recording from around that time, including the rhythm before you pressed the button. The available recording time varies, so follow the instructions about how soon to mark an episode. To help the doctor match your symptoms to the recording, note the time, what you felt and what you were doing.
A home transmitter or compatible phone app can send stored information to the team checking your recordings. Follow the setup instructions and ask who to contact if it stops sending. You may also need appointments to check the device or discuss results.
Remote monitoring isn't an emergency response service. Sending a recording doesn't mean someone has seen it immediately, and the device won't call an ambulance. Seek medical help for concerning symptoms even if you've marked an episode.
An automatic alert isn't a diagnosis; the doctor compares the saved rhythm with the timing and description of your symptoms. A very slow heartbeat or a long pause during a faint, for example, may lead to an assessment for a pacemaker.
If a clear recording shows a normal rhythm during your usual symptoms, an abnormal rhythm is less likely to have caused that episode. If no episode has been captured, that's a different result, and monitoring may need to continue. The recorder doesn't measure blood pressure, so other causes of fainting may still need investigation.
Some soreness and bruising around the small wound can happen after insertion. Bleeding and infection are possible complications. An infected recorder may need to be removed.
Follow the hospital's instructions about the dressing, showering and returning to exercise or work. Contact the hospital or your GP promptly if pain is getting worse, the area becomes red or swollen, or fluid leaks from the wound.
Keep your doctor informed about further faints, including any injuries, even while monitoring continues.
Your GP or specialist can refer you to a Heartscope cardiologist to discuss unexplained symptoms or a recommendation for a loop recorder. Bring previous heart test results so the cardiologist can see what's already been checked. If hospital insertion is recommended, a separate referral is needed. The clinic can answer questions about the consultation.
Consultations are privately billed. If you're eligible, Medicare pays part of the consultation fee when you have a valid referral from your GP or specialist. The clinic will confirm the amount left to pay before the visit.
Hospital insertion, the device and ongoing monitoring may have separate fees. They aren't included in the consultation fee, and the hospital or provider confirms them.
Heartscope cardiologists see patients at clinics in Melbourne and Queensland. If you have a referral, our team can confirm the location and appointment details.
View clinic locationsNo. Loop recorders are inserted and removed in hospital. Heartscope's cardiologists may be able to see patients with a valid referral from their GP or specialist, and can refer them to hospital if a recorder is appropriate.
A recorder's battery can last several years, depending on the model. The doctor may recommend taking it out once it has recorded enough information or further monitoring isn't needed, or when the battery is running low. Removal is another small procedure: local anaesthetic numbs the area, the doctor makes a cut over the recorder and takes it out, then closes and dresses the wound.
Many loop recorders allow MRI scans under specified conditions. Tell the imaging service about the device before a scan and provide its identification details. Staff need to check the exact model and whether its recordings should be saved before the scan.
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