An Overview Of Cardiac Telemetry Monitoring In A Heart Patient Rehabilitation Program
Cardiac telemetry monitoring during rehabilitation of heart patients provides enhanced safety should emergencies arise. It also provides a feeling of greater security for the patient, knowing that if human methods of monitoring are in ere, there is technologically sophisticated equipment to back up the staff’s best efforts.
Cardiac telemetry is a system of monitoring cardio-vascular activity and other vital signs though a central processing unit overseen by medical staff trained in this specific system--usually called telemetry nurses.
When a patient begins the rehabilitation phase after heart surgery or a life threatening episode, they will be screened and all their vital information will be programmed into the cardiac telemetry system’s database. Leads will be hooked to the patient at all times. The rehabilitation usually includes physical therapy - the cardiac telemetry monitoring is especially helpful during physical therapy to compare active versus resting heart rate and cardio vascular response.
The cardiac telemetry equipment has the ability to record arrhythmia, it registers blood pressure, temperature and respiration. The system has a touch screen and an extensive database for the information about each heart patient undergoing rehabilitation.
The purpose of the cardiac telemetry center is not only monitoring, but also diagnosing and interpreting patterns of the recovering heart patient. The equipment works to automatically notify the patient’s doctor of any changes requiring his or her attention. The automatic alert can be sent to the doctor by fax or other means, on a 24-hour basis.
In an emergency, the on duty staff will also implement necessary care before the doctor’s interventions. Staff is trained in advanced cardiac emergency procedures. The rehabilitation center has the necessary equipment to meet the emergency: defibrillators, emergency medications, resuscitation carts and other related equipment.
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The center where the equipment is located is the home base from which the patient’s data is tracked over extended periods to ascertain trends in the recuperation process as evidenced by heart rate and arrhythmia. The data can be viewed on screen and software allows incoming data to be immediately correlated with patient history or other incidents during the patients stay at the center.
The job opportunities in the field of cardiac telemetry are numerous, as some nurses may not be trained in this state of the art technology, although qualified in EKG. Need for technologically savvy job applicants keeps increasing as more facilities are using this kind of monitoring program. Another reason for this increase in telemetry jobs is the aging of the population overall, meaning there will be more heart patients needing treatment and rehabilitation. Employment projection statistics indicate that career opportunities will continue to grow rapidly through 2013 and beyond.
A very recent development in cardiac telemetry is a mobile unit that was approved by the FDA in January 2010. This wireless unit detects arrhythmias that do not require immediate medical response. The equipment company is also approved to bill Medicare and various insurance companies for patients’ use of the equipment.