Ambulatory Heart Monitor Increases Patient Compliance

A new wearable Holter recorder half the size and weight of commonly used devices improves compliance and cardiac test outcomes.

The Burdick 4250 compact, lightweight, Holter recorder includes high-quality 5-lead, 7-lead, and 3-lead channel recordings, as well as a liquid crystal display (LCD) that displays an electrocardiogram (ECG)-signal preview that eliminates the need for test jacks and repeat tests. Other features include a streamlined five-button keypad and an “event button” to let patients capture and mark episodes that concern them. The device allows patient ECG capture at 200 samples per second over a period up to 48 hours, and includes integrated pacemaker detection.


The device features rapid download of data from the recorder to a personal computer for clinical analysis, using a secure data (SD) card or an USB connection. The device also pairs with existing Burdick Vision Holter and Vision Premier Holter analysis software, as well as with HeartCentrix, a proprietary software solution used to interface with a variety of Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems. Additionally, using the Vision 3.5 software platform (released with the recorder), clinicians are able to view test data on widescreen monitors. The Burdick 4250 Holter recorder is a product of Cardiac Science (Waukesha, WI, USA).

“Patients will appreciate the Burdick 4250's compact design that allows them to wear the recorder comfortably and unobtrusively under clothing, making it easier for them to complete cardiac studies,” said Ben Swahn, general manager of diagnostic cardiology at Cardiac Science. “Clinicians will appreciate the increase in quality of clinical data and the decrease in retesting.”

The Holter monitor, named after physicist Norman J. Holter who invented telemetric cardiac monitoring in 1949, is a portable device for continuously monitoring various electrical activity of the cardiovascular system for at least 24 hours (and often for two weeks at a time). The Holter's most common use is for monitoring ECG, but it can also be used for monitoring brain activity or arterial pressure. Its extended recording period is sometimes useful for observing occasional cardiac arrhythmias or epileptic events, which would be difficult to identify in a shorter period of time.

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