When you’re worried you may have a problem with something as important as the health of your heart, you need definitive answers to your concerns as quickly as possible. But you may not have undergone an ECG before or fitted one yourself. So this page is dedicated to answering any questions you might have about the purchase, fitting and results of your ECG heart test. If you cannot find your question answered below, please get in touch with our team who will be happy to assist with any queries you may have.
No appointment is required. You simply order your test here, pay when requested and your test will be dispatched first class within 1 working day of receiving your order.
Unlike an NHS test, there is very little waiting time with ECG At Home, as we have a continual stock of ECG monitor devices available. We aim to post your device within 1 working day of receiving your order and report back with your results within 72 hours of receiving the device from you.
Yes, ECG At Home is part of Edina Healthcare, which is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for diagnostic and screening procedures along with treatment of disease, disorder, or injury.
At the end of your ECG At Home service from Edina Healthcare, you will be provided with a feedback questionnaire; we also welcome feedback on Google reviews.
Your results will be available within 72 hours of our team receiving your device back from you. You will receive these results by email. You will then have your consultation with our Cardiology Team to discuss your results and recommendations.
An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a simple test that can be used to check your heart's rhythm and electrical activity. Our Holter ECG is attached to your chest to detect the electrical signals produced by your heart each time it beats.
These signals are recorded by our ECG and are looked at by our Cardiology Team to see if there is anything unusual.
An ECG can help detect:
- arrhythmias – where the heart beats too slowly, too quickly, or irregularly
- coronary heart disease – where the heart's blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances
- heart attacks – where the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked
- cardiomyopathy – where the heart walls become thickened or enlarged
We always recommend you wear your test for as long as possible up to 7 days to get the most accurate results. The longer you wear it the better. You must wear it for a minimum of 24 hours for the test to be viable.
ECG At Home will post you a Patch ECG by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery, which means you will need to sign for it on delivery. This will be sent out first class to you within 1 working day of ordering.
You can self-fit your ECG monitor by following these comprehensive fitting instructions here. You also have the option to speak with one of our team online, who will be able to talk you through the simple process.
It takes about 10 minutes to fit the device, which includes scanning the QR code on the ECG box and downloading the App.
Once fitted, you can then go about your normal day-to-day life and activities; wearing the recorder when you are asleep as well. The device is small and unobtrusive; you will barely know you are wearing it, but you may prefer to wear loose-fitting clothing while it is on.
If you should experience any symptoms while wearing the ECG you can press the button on the front of the ECG, or you may record in the paper diary card which comes with the device and then post back to us. Our team will then check those times for any problems when they report your ECG results.
You will be provided with a pre-paid envelope. All you are required to do is take it to a local Post Office to get proof of posting.
Yes. There are no significant risks involved in wearing an ECG Holter monitor patch other than possible slight discomfort or skin irritation where the electrodes were placed. Edina Healthcare, our parent organisation, provides Holter ECG tests to the NHS 365 days of the year. It is a perfectly safe service.
Your ECG monitor can be worn in the shower but not in the bath or for swimming.
You must not fully submerge your ECG monitor patch within a bath, hot tub, swimming pool, or open water, or it will be damaged. Please don't swim or bathe for the entire time you're wearing your ECG test.
You can undertake light activities such as a casual walk but should not break sweat or for example go to a gym and get very sweaty.
Sleeping face down may prove to be difficult to do but is not impossible.
This is highly unlikely, but in the unlikely event this does happen, please contact ECG at Home by Edina Healthcare immediately on info@edinahealthcare.co.uk and we will call you back.
It’s unlikely the monitor will cause you to develop any symptoms. Please either push the button on the device for a second or so, or note them in your ECG diary and we will check them when cleaning and reporting your data.
A copy of your report will be provided to you on email. Our Cardiology doctor will then talk you through the results and, where appropriate, provide clinical advice before arranging an onward referral to your own GP, along with all the information you will need for them.
If you have private insurance, we will provide all the information you need to be able to access further care from your private provider.
We only offer NHS-grade ECG Holter Tests for good reason. This is not a 2-minute 12-lead ECG that measures just 1/3000th of your daily heartbeats. Our tests record all 108,000+ of your heartbeats, meaning we are far more likely to pick up any problems you may have.
If you experience any symptoms while wearing the ECG, please either push the button on the device for a second or so, or note them in your ECG diary and we will check them when cleaning and reporting your data.
At ECG At Home our Cardiology Team is highly experienced in delivering ECG testing services for the NHS. You can find out more about the skilled clinicians and technicians on our team page here.
An ECG test patch is designed to be comfortable to wear and your test will be safe and painless. No electricity is put into your body while it's carried out. There may be some slight discomfort when the electrodes are removed from your skin – similar to removing a sticking plaster – and some people may develop a mild rash where the electrodes were attached.
There are many inferior heart test devices available, such as fitness watches and low grade tests which only examine a fraction of your heart’s activity. Our ECG Holter patch monitors are designed to record every single heart beat throughout the duration of your test, giving our cardiology experts the most accurate results possible over a period of time.
Successful, accurate ECG interpretation requires skin preparation, high quality electrodes and correct placement of the device to ensure the appropriate signal vector across the heart and minimise artefacts or noise. Our service is designed to minimise reading inaccuracy and maximise diagnostic yield.