Heart Rhythm Problems
A normal resting heart will beat between 60 and 100 beats a minute. Heart arrhythmias, like atrial fibrillation, happen when your heart’s electrical impulses misfire. When these impulses go awry, your heart may beat too fast, too slowly or out of sync. The main cause of arrhythmia is abnormal cells within the heart.
What’s the CardioInsight Mapping Vest?
The CardioInsight Mapping Vest is a wearable medical device that can map the heart's electrical system and detect abnormal cells. It uses 250 electrodes to record and locate electrical heart malfunctions. Cardiac mapping has been a medical tool for a while. However, the vest is the first effective noninvasive electrical heart mapping option.
The vest is flexible enough to fit people of all ages, genders, and body shapes. It contours to your chest and torso to allow for mapping of your entire heart, including the upper (atria) and lower (ventricle) chambers.
How Does the Vest Work?
The CardioInsight Mapping Vest combines information about the heart’s electrical signals with images from a computed tomography (CT) scan. This produces a 3D heart image that clearly shows your heart’s four chambers, allowing doctors to see how heart impulses travel and better locate the abnormal cells.
When an electrophysiologist (arrhythmia specialist) knows where to find the abnormal cells, the doctor can remove them to restore a steady heartbeat.
Advantages of the Heart Mapping Vest
The heart mapping vest:
- Allows you to be awake and alert during testing
- Provides a much clearer and broader heart picture than an electrocardiogram (EKG) or electrophysiology (EP) study
- Lets your doctor monitor irregular heart rhythms that come and go because you can wear the vest for hours
- Helps your doctor plan treatment and precisely target the unusual tissue