Implantable heart devices help us diagnose, manage and treat your heart rhythm disorders. Most of these heart devices require surgery to implant them.
Heart Devices: Monitoring
Holter Monitors & Event Monitors
Patients wear these monitors on the outside of the body to record the heart’s activity. They're not implanted.
- Holter monitor: Worn for a day or more
- Event monitor: Worn for a longer period of time (up to 30 days)
Loop Recorder
A doctor implants a loop recorder to record your heart’s rhythm for up to 3 years. We use data from the loop recorder to diagnosis heart rhythm disorders and determine treatment options.
Treatment with Heart Devices
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)
Used to treat dangerous heart rhythms from the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles), ICDs can both restore normal rhythm with painless pacing and, if necessary, provide an electric shock to prevent patients from dying suddenly from very fast heart rhythms. You may need an ICD if you’ve had:
- A life-threatening arrhythmia, like ventricular arrhythmia
- Reduced heart function from a heart attack, previous viral infection, or other medical conditions that weaken the heart (heart failure)
Learn more about ICDs.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) Defibrillators
Cardiac resynchronization therapy is a biventricular pacemaker or defibrillator with three leads instead of one or two like standard ICDs. The CRT device paces both ventricles at the same time to improve heart function and reduce heart failure symptoms like shortness of breath. At UVA Health, we can use MRI to optimize the implementation of CRT and maximize our patients' quality of life.
You must qualify for CRT. Our doctors will help determine if you're a candidate.
Pacemakers
A doctor implants a pacemaker in the upper portion of the chest with one or more wires (leads) that pass through a vein into your heart. They help keep your heart from beating too slowly.