The Holter is a small, wearable device that tracks your heart rhythm. This records the heart’s electrical activity using electrode patches placed on a person’s chest. The patches are attached by wire to a portable monitor about the size of a small tape recorder. It is usually worn for one or two days. The recorded cardiac electrical activity by the Holter is then transferred to a computer and the rhythm is analyzed by the doctor.

Your doctor might recommend a tilt table test if you have repeated unexplained episodes of lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting. You will lie on a table that tilts by varying angles recreating the conditions that cause fainting. While on the table you will be connected to a machine that measures how your blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rhythm responds to changes in your body position. This procedure takes about two hours.

​

​

​

An external Loop Recorder can be continuously worn for several days up to a month. Like the Holter, this device also records electrical activity using electrode patches placed on your chest which are attached by wires to a portable monitor. This gadget is used in patients who have symptoms that occur once or twice in a week to once a month.

​

​

If Your close family member had a sudden cardiac death or if you were resuscitated from a sudden cardiac arrest but your ECG seems normal, your doctor will suspect that you have Brugada syndrome.  Here a structurally normal heart can develop a fast heart rhythm due to changes within the ion channels of the heart. Flecainide is a drug that blocks the faulty sodium channels and unmasks the ECG changes. You will be given the drug through a vein in your arm and the ECG will record how your heart reacts to the flecainide giving us information about the cause of your potential arrhythmia.

​

​

​

​

The treadmill test helps your doctor understand how the heart handles physical activity (stress). You will be asked to walk on a treadmill, first slowly and then with gradually increasing speed and inclination. You may be advised a stress test if you have signs or symptoms of coronary artery disease or exercise-induced abnormal heart rhythm. We have 3 treadmill machines and these tests are performed daily when indicated.

​

Some patients have their windpipe blocked when sleeping causing a condition called sleep apnoea. It is common in those who are overweight, have hypertension, and are above 40 with a noticeable snore. Sleep apnea leads to the brain and the heart getting less oxygen which can result in abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation. A sleep study is done by monitoring the oxygen level in the blood while a patient is asleep. Patients are advised to lose weight and sleep on their side to reduce sleep apnea. If it is severe, they are advised to use a special breathing machine called a CPAP.