Medtronic Carelink Questions

I received my Carelink monitor in April of this year and was able to successfully sync it with my ICD. Since then I have been able to transmit successfully to my care provider.Once after the initial syncing and then my 1st quarterly transmission. It would seem all is well.

When I got the monitor, the nurse did not give me much information about the device and attempts to talk with her since have proved futile. Perhaps someone here can provide me some information.

1. Does the monitor interrogate my ICD every night or only prior to transmitting (quarterly)?
2. If the power to the monitor were to fail - do I need to re-sync it to my ICD?
3. Do I need to take the monitor with me when I travel or will my ICD store the information while I am out of town?

Any additional information is most appreciated.

Tom D.

5 Comments

Carelink transmissions

by PPMchick - 2010-08-30 08:08:16

Hi!
I work in E.P. and have for 14 years. Depending on which ICD you have, it is possible for the Carelink monitor to monitor you daily. Do you have a wireless device, such as the Concerto, Vituoso or Consulta? These are wireless Medtronic ICD's. The wireless devices ( by wireless I don't mean that there are no wires to your heart ) have the programmable capability to send an alert to your Healthcare provider if at any time it detects anything that meets the "alert" criteria. What it does is scan the ICD daily and the information is only transmitted if there has been an alert. Anyone that looks at your report can see what the alert was and when it happened. Otherwise your quarterly test is the only one sent to your doctor/clinician.
It is a good idea to take your monitor with you when you go out of town. Your ICD will store information from one interrogation to the next but if you do not have your monitor you cannot transmit it to your doctor.
If you have anymore questions feel free to ask me. I run a pacemaker/ICD clinic and check devices all day everyday both in the office and remotely. You can also go to www.medtroniccarelink.net.

God Bless you!

Cindy

carelink

by thomast - 2010-08-30 12:08:07

Your monitor only reads out your data each quarter or what ever schedule you are on. It does not read it out every night.
If power fails you do not have to do anything with the mo nitor.
Always take it with you when you travel so if you have a problem you can send in the data. to your doctor. If you look on the end of the unit it wll have a switch so yo can set it to dial an 8 or 9 before the number so you can send from a motel phone which requires dialing and 8 or 9 to get an outside line.
Your PM/ICD will store info all the time, but if you have aproblem while out of town you will want to send the data to your doctor so they tell you what happened and what to do.


Thomas

Carelink

by ElectricFrank - 2010-08-30 12:08:47

The Carelink used with your ICD is different than the one used with my pacer. I always carry mine with me during travel. It could be useful if any questionable symptom showed up. The Medtronic rep told me to feel free to send data if I had any concerns and they would forward it to the cardiologist. In doing this it's important to call Medronics and give them a phone number where you can be reached if they feel you need to go to ER. I would also take it with me anytime I visited the ER as it would make it easier for them to coordinate with the cardio.

As far as the other questions, the best approach is to call Medtronics (number is on your card) and ask them. I have found them to be very ready and able to explain most anything. The advantage is that you can trust the explaination.

best,
frank

Thanks, Cindy

by ElectricFrank - 2010-08-31 01:08:22

Thanks for filling in on the wireless CareLink. I have an Adapta pacemaker and the Carelink is one of the "magnet" types. It only runs a check when I tell it to.

I can understand the need for the daily data with an ICD. The information would be much more critical.

frank

Thanks to all

by tommytailspin - 2010-08-31 09:08:01

Thanks to all for the information - especially Cindy. I have a wireless Concerto ICD which I guess means it is being interrogated nightly.

Now I have to figure out how to make room in my carry-on for my C-PAP machine AND my heart monitor!! I will have to add extra time just to get through security with all my medical electronics.

You know you're wired when...

Your old device becomes a paper weight for your desk.

Member Quotes

I had a pacemaker when I was 11. I never once thought I wasn't a 'normal kid' nor was I ever treated differently because of it. I could do everything all my friends were doing; I just happened to have a battery attached to my heart to help it work.