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Question:
Will stressful events influence the results on my Holter monitor?
I am wearing a Holter monitor for 30 days due to some symptoms. I have had some unusual life events while wearing the monitor. One was a very unexpected bad diagnosis unrelated to my heart; the other, extremely stressful days during which I anticipated being laid off from my job. Will these extremely stressful events adversely affect the results of my monitor? I am definitely a Type A person to begin with. Worry about that is also causing stress!
submitted by Jack from Amarillo on 9/18/2015
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Raymond F. Stainback, MD
High stress / emotions can raise the levels of circulating adrenaline (natural stress response) and there are certain abnormal heart rhythms (detectable on a Holter monitor). Therefore, if the Holter results are normal, the study would be all the more reassuring there is not a heart rhythm problem. If there are findings on the monitor, whether or not this is related to the stress can be discussed with your doctor. In short, it is good to have the Holter on during stress episodes if this is when symptoms occur.
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Updated September 2015
