15
External
nonloop
recorder
Months No Yes No May be used long term
and intermittently; will
not capture very brief
episodes
Smartphone
monitor
Indefinite No Yes No Provides inexpensive
long-term intermittent
monitoring ; dependent
on patient compliance;
requires a smartphone
Mobile
cardiac
telemetry
30 days Yes Yes Yes Real time central
monitoring and alarms;
relatively expensive
Implantable
loop
recorder
Up to 3
years
Yes Yes Yes Improved patient
compliance for long-
term use; not able
to detect 30-second
episodes of AF due to
detection algorithm;
presence of AF needs
to be confirmed by
electrogram (EGM)
review as specificity of
detection algorithm
imperfect; expensive
Pacemakers
or ICDs with
atrial leads
Indefinite Yes Yes Yes Excellent AF
documentation of
burden and trends;
presence of AF needs to
be confirmed by EGM
tracing review because
specificity of detection
algorithms imperfect;
expensive
Wearable
multisensor
ECG
monitors
Indefinite Yes ECG 3 leads, temp,
heart rate (HR), heart
rate variability (HRV),
activity tracking,
respiratory rate, galvanic
skin response
Table 6. Types of Ambulatory Cardiac Monitoring Devices
(cont'd)
Type of
recorder
Typical
monitoring
duration
Continuous
recording
Event
recording
Auto
trigger Unique features
