ECG vs ambulatory ECG: what is the difference?
Dr Ravi Assomull describes the difference between a standard ECG and an ambulatory ECG monitor. In this video, he explains how short recordings capture baseline electrical activity, while longer monitoring helps detect intermittent arrhythmias linked to symptoms.
Learn more about Electrocardiogram (ECG) or book a consultation with Dr Assomull – no GP referral needed, appointments typically within one working day.
Transcript
So a normal or 12 lead ECG is a scan of the electrical activity of the heart, taken typically over 10 seconds. And the focus here is to look at the electrical activity from all parts of the heart, from all 12 views of the heart. An ambulatory ECG is something that we actually ask you to carry with you.
Typically, it's a patch we stick on your chest that you can wear for anywhere from 24 hours to up to two weeks. The patches we use allow you to exercise, shower, work without any intrusion to your regular activities of daily living. The key difference here is that an ambulatory ECG provides just one or two channels of electrical activity, but will give us an idea of your heart rhythm.
And the benefit of an ambulatory ECG is that if you have symptoms such as palpitations, we can get symptom rhythm correlations so that we can see when you have symptoms of palpitations what your heart rhythm is actually doing at that point.
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