Allowing your heart device to communicate with your doctor in real time

Expert Heart & Vascular Care

Getting the care you need starts with seeing one of our heart or vascular specialists.

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Your implanted heart device—whether a pacemaker or an implanted cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) —helps keep your heart rhythm steady so you can lead a more active life.

With remote monitoring, your doctor can determine whether your heart device is working properly and that you are in good health without you needing to come in for an exam. Instead, you can have a “remote checkup” from the comfort of your own home, while shopping for groceries or during whatever daily activities you have going on.

What to expect from remote monitoring

Before you’re discharged from the hospital, a member of the heart care team will connect the monitor to your implanted device and to your doctor’s office. The monitor will download information from the implanted device at regularly scheduled times or when scheduled by your doctor’s office. The monitor may collect information every day, so it’s best to keep it plugged in at all times.

Information from your device is transmitted directly to MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute’s Cardiac Care Line through a secure website. Only authorized users associated with your care can see the information.

Some pacemakers require manual transmission of information to your doctor’s office, and they’ll walk you through the process to do that. Don’t manually send information from a device that automatically transmits it unless instructed to do so by your doctor. If you feel that you need to send additional readings, contact your doctor first.

If you travel, simply take the monitor with you and set it up as directed. If you leave the country, please let your doctor know in advance.

The home monitor does not provide constant monitoring, nor does it reprogram or change any settings on the implanted device. If there is an emergency, call 911 immediately.

Your doctor’s office will schedule remote checkups for the coming year along with any in-office checkups you may need. After each remote checkup, you will receive a bill for your regular copay amount. This is because your doctor reviews the results from each checkup and makes necessary recommendations for your continued care just as they would during a regular office visit.

Your doctor may recommend, in addition to the home monitor, that you also go home with an optional heart failure management system. This will include a weight scale and blood pressure monitor.