A patient-activated Event Recorder is used for an extended period of time and is helpful in the evaluation of sporadic cardiac symptoms or events. The heart uses electrical impulses to tell the chambers when to contract to pump blood throughout your body, by measuring these impulses, your doctor can determine if your heart is functioning properly. Sometimes, an in-office electrocardiogram (EKG) might be taken, but this only gives a brief snapshot of your heart’s health. For a clearer picture of how your heart’s rhythm changes throughout the day, your doctor could ask for continuous monitoring for several days or up to a month using an event recorder. These record your heart patterns throughout your daily activities. Event recorders are portable EKGs, and like EKGs are painless.