The ILR has no wires or patches, so it won’t obstruct you in your daily activities. You’ll be able to bathe, swim and do physical exercise with no problems.
For 48 hours after you have had the ILR fitted, we recommend that you avoid raising the arm that’s nearest to the loop recorder above shoulder level, in order to avoid a frozen shoulder. You should try to keep the shoulder as loose and relaxed as possible. We might recommend you avoid some types of physical exercise, such as the gym, sports or any heavy lifting, for about a week as the wound heals.
You’ll be given a transmitter device after your procedure. Usually, it will send data to our cardiology team at night. However, there is also a button on it that you should press if you experience any particular symptoms. This sends us data immediately. For the most accurate results, we may also ask you to keep a diary with details and times of your symptoms. This can be done using a smartphone app.
You may find that the ILR triggers a metal detector, such as when you go through a security scanner at an airport. We’ll give you a device identification card to show in case you set off the detectors.
Imaging scans, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or a mammogram, are safe to have whilst you are wearing the ILR. However, the strong magnetic field could erase any saved data, so you should let us know if you are going to have one of these scans and we will ensure the data is saved.
