NEWPORT BEACH : Hoag Center Checks Hearts at Long Range

A Hoag Hospital heart patient, flying in an airplane, was feeling odd heart rhythms and hooked his heart monitor up to the in-plane telephone to let nurses at the hospital analyze his heartbeat.

Another awoke at home from a dizzy spell, connected his monitor to his phone and was told by nurses on the other end that his heart had in fact stopped beating for 12 seconds just minutes before.

Such are the feats of the hospital’s Pacemaker and Arrhythmia Center, which uses fiber-optic technology to keep heart care patients in touch with their health center. And it is all done without the patient having to travel to the hospital.

The program is for heart patients with pacemakers or heart problems that need to be monitored so medical personnel can determine the care they need. It allows patients to get solid advice yet avoid going to the hospital every time the patient feels a slight problem with their heartbeat.

For about one month, patients using the center wear a small, cigarette-lighter-sized instrument in a shirt pocket that connects to sensors on the chest around the heart. Whenever they feel palpitations, irregular beats or any other heart problems, they can either record the beats on a connected tape recorder or send their own heartbeats live to Hoag by telephone.

Nurses on the other end monitor heartbeats and check rates on pacemakers. They are generally able to look at the information and decide if the patient’s doctor should be called.

The Pacemaker and Arrhythmia Center is part of Hoag Hospital’s heart institute, a state-of-the-art care facility. According to Hoag officials, the center serves about 500 pacemaker patients and about 40 to 80 arrhythmia patients each month.