Prospective comparison of the diagnostic utility of a standard event monitor versus a leadless portable ECG monitor in the evaluation of patients with palpitations

Introduction Current ambulatory ECG monitoring systems are limited in their ability to diagnose patients with palpitations. The aim of this prospective study was to compare a new leadless ambulatory monitor with a standard event monitor in the evaluation of patients with palpitations. Methods Eighteen consecutive patients (11 female, 56 +/- 16 years) referred for evaluation of palpitations were provided with both a standard event monitor and a leadless monitor for 30 days. They were asked to record episodes of palpitations with both monitoring devices. Results All 18 individuals were compliant with the leadless monitor for the 30-day period while only 14 (78%) patients were compliant with the standard event monitor (p=0.10). During a combined monitoring period of 563 days, 159 symptomatic episodes were recorded with the leadless ECG monitor (8.8 +/- 9.7 per patient, range 1-35) and 169 symptomatic episodes were recorded with the event monitor (12 +/- 8.3 per patient, range 1-33) (p=NS). The leadless ECG monitor recorded arrhythmias in 13 of 18 patients (72%) and the standard event monitor recorded arrhythmias in 8 of 14 patients (57%) (p=NS). Conclusion The leadless ECG monitor is associated with high patient compliance and results in high quality ECG recordings. The diagnostic yield of this monitoring system is equivalent to a standard event monitor.