Parkridge Medical Center Tuesday announced that it is one of the first hospitals in Tennessee to implant the Medtronic Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitor System in a patient, the smallest implantable cardiac monitoring device available.
The Reveal LINQ ICM is approximately one-third the size of a AAA battery (~1 cc), making it more than 80 percent smaller than other ICMs. While smaller, the device is part of a system that allows physicians to continuously and wirelessly monitor a patient’s heart for up to three years.
“This tiny device can send a constant stream of information about a patient’s heart to his or her medical provider,” said Parkridge Medical Center cardiologist Selcuk Tombul, DO. “Data from the LINQ helps a doctor to keep a close eye on what a patient’s heart is doing, so that a problem can be monitored and changes addressed before they become life-threatening.”
In addition to its continuous and wireless monitoring capabilities, the system provides remote monitoring through the Carelink Network. Through the Carelink Network, physicians can request notifications to alert them if their patients have had cardiac events. The Reveal LINQ ICM is indicated for patients who experience symptoms such as dizziness, palpitation, syncope (fainting) and chest pain that may suggest a cardiac arrhythmia, and for patients at increased risk for cardiac arrhythmias.
The Reveal LINQ system includes the new MyCareLink Patient Monitor, a simplified remote monitoring system with global cellular technology that transmits patients’ cardiac device diagnostic data to their clinicians from nearly any location in the world.
Placed just beneath the skin through a small incision of less than 1 cm in the upper left side of the chest, the Reveal LINQ ICM is often nearly invisible to the naked eye once inserted. The device is placed using a minimally invasive insertion procedure, which simplifies the experience for both physicians and their patients. The Reveal LINQ ICM is MR-Conditional, allowing patients to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) if needed.