Maintaining Accurate Long-Term Sensing Ability Despite Significant Size Reduction of Implantable Cardiac Monitors.

BACKGROUND: The Reveal LINQ™ implantable cardiac monitor (ICM; Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) is obviously smaller than its precursor (the Reveal XT™), but little is known about its long-term safety. Here, we investigated the long-term R-wave sensing reliability of the Reveal LINQ™ ICM. METHODS: We analyzed the sensing quality of the Reveal LINQ™ ICM over time between March 2014 and January 2015. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients underwent Reveal LINQ™ implantation. The main reason for implantation was unexplained syncope (60%). We evaluated a total of 305.8 patient-months (median, 10.7 months) of R-wave sensing quality. A comparison of baseline and follow-up R-wave sensing values revealed no difference (0.401 mV ± 0.244 mV vs 0.447 mV ± 0.323 mV; P = 0.225). CONCLUSIONS: The consistent detection of events is an important safety feature of an ICM and linked to secure R-wave sensing. Despite the noticeable size reduction, the Reveal LINQ™ ICM retains reliable sensing quality over time.