What is mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT)?
Mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) is a cardiac monitoring method that uses a small portable device to monitors a patient’s cardiac activity. It records the patient’s heartbeat as they run errands, exercise, and sleep.
What are the benefits of MCT?
Mobile cardiac telemetry (MCT) is one of the most effective methods of cardiac monitoring. The ability to analyze every heartbeat with little interference to the patient’s normal day, and the opportunity to initiate an immediate emergency response as needed, makes it one of the most attractive choices in today’s market. It delivers advantages to both the patient and the physician that can lead to more efficient care.
A physician orders an MCT device for a patient and registers the patient with their cardiac monitoring provider. Once the patient is ready, the monitoring system’s office activates the MCT device and the heartbeat information is sent wirelessly across the mobile network. The mobile cardiac telemetry device is also able to record patient-activated or symptomatic tests, where the patient is able to manually push a button and enter the symptoms when they feel them. The device also auto-triggers for bradycardia, tachycardia, pauses, or atrial fibrillation (AFib).
Data collected through the continuous electrocardiogram is transmitted to the monitoring center and reviewed by professionally trained staff, who look for any abnormalities as they occur. Any symptomatic or auto-triggered events are analyzed as they are received by the monitoring center. In addition, the patient’s full disclosure data is reviewed for onsets and offsets of elusive arrhythmias that may not have been felt by the patient, or any other anomalies. They also quantify AFibs and pauses, calculating the percentages of tachycardia, bradycardia, and compiling a comprehensive list of calculations. Once the study is complete, an end of study report is created and sent to the physician.
