Telemetric electrocardiography

By means of a satellite transmitter nearby the subject an electrocardiogram can be obtained by telemetry in a hospital electrocardiographic (ECG) laboratory from an area of approximately 20 miles in diameter within the city of London, Ontario. The technique employed in this preliminary trial produced excellent tracings, quite comparable to tracings obtained using the same leads with direct recording. Ninety-four trials were performed on 63 subjects, 37 of whom were patients with a suspected or known myocardial abnormality. A normal group of 26 healthy subjects, 16 of whom were strenuously exercised on a bicycle ergometer to the point of physical exhaustion, were also studied. Monitoring patients during ordinary daily activities has proved extremely useful in the detection and diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias, intermittent conduction disturbances, latent coronary artery disease, and asymptomatic heart disease.