Scans and heart tests
Holter monitor report explainer
A Holter report boils a day or more of heartbeats down to a page of counts: total beats, the slowest and fastest rates, and tallies of extra beats under initials such as PVC, PAC, VE and SVE. Add your report below to see each count named in full and the summary restated.
Explain your holter monitor report
- 1. Add itDrop a PDF, take a photo or paste the text.
- 2. Check itPersonal details are removed on your device. You approve what is sent.
- 3. Read itSummary, table of results, terms and questions to ask.
The explainer opens on its own page with no adverts and no outside scripts. Your file is read on your device and is never uploaded.
What you get
- Total beats and the minimum, average and maximum heart rate, with the times they were recorded.
- Counts of extra beats separated into those from the upper and the lower chambers.
- Initials such as PVC, SVE, NSVT and AF burden spelled out and defined.
- Diary entries and the symptoms logged beside them, as your report matches them up.
Lines you will usually see on a Holter report
- Recording duration and analyzed timeHow long the monitor was worn, and how much of the recording was clear enough to read
- Minimum, average and maximum heart rateThe slowest, typical and fastest rates in the recording, usually with the time of day
- Ventricular ectopics (VE, PVC or VPB)Extra beats that start in the lower chambers of the heart
- Supraventricular ectopics (SVE, PAC or APB)Extra beats that start in the upper chambers
- Couplets, triplets and runsTwo, three or more extra beats in a row
- PausesGaps between heartbeats longer than a length the report sets, with the longest one listed
- BurdenThe share of all beats, or of the recording time, taken up by one kind of beat or rhythm
What this tool cannot tell you
Some extra beats and wide swings in heart rate appear on many recordings, and a count by itself does not show whether it matters. Much of a Holter report is produced by software and then checked by a technician and a doctor, whose conclusion is the part that carries weight. MedicDecode explains the counts and the vocabulary and does not assess your heart rhythm. Palpitations with fainting, chest pain or severe dizziness call for urgent medical attention.
Common questions
What is the difference between PVCs and PACs?
Both are early, extra heartbeats. A PVC starts in the lower chambers (the ventricles) and a PAC in the upper chambers (the atria), which is why reports count them separately.
Why was my slowest heart rate recorded at night?
Heart rate normally falls during sleep, so the minimum is often logged in the early hours. Reports print the time beside each rate so the reader can tell whether you were likely to be asleep or active.
I pressed the event button. Where does that show up?
Most reports have a diary or patient event section listing each button press, the symptom you noted and the rhythm recorded at that moment. If yours has one, the explanation restates each entry as written.
Words you may see on this report
Tap a word for its plain-English meaning, an example line and what it does not mean.
- Atelectasis
Atelectasis means part of a lung is not fully expanded, so the small air sacs there are partly or completely deflated.
- BI-RADS
BI-RADS is a scoring system from 0 to 6 used on mammogram, breast ultrasound and breast MRI reports to describe findings and next steps.
- Cardiomegaly
Cardiomegaly means the heart looks larger than expected, usually on a chest X-ray, and it is a description rather than a diagnosis.
- Clinical correlation
Clinical correlation means the radiologist is asking your doctor to compare the scan with your symptoms, examination and other tests.
- Consolidation
Consolidation on a chest scan means part of the lung that is normally filled with air is filled with something else, such as fluid or pus.
- Contrast
Contrast is a dye given before or during a scan to make blood vessels and certain tissues show up more clearly.
- Cyst
A cyst is a closed sac with a thin wall that usually holds fluid, and simple cysts seen on scans are very common and usually harmless.
- Degenerative changes
Degenerative changes means wear-and-tear changes in joints or the spine that commonly happen with age and use.
- Disc bulge
A disc bulge means a spinal disc extends a little beyond its normal edge, usually evenly around a wide area. It is very common.
- Effusion
An effusion is extra fluid that has collected in a space in the body, such as around the lungs, in a joint or around the heart.
- Ejection fraction
Ejection fraction is the percentage of blood the heart's main pumping chamber pushes out with each beat. It is one measure of heart pumping.
- Enhancement
Enhancement means an area becomes brighter on a scan after contrast dye is given, which shows it has a blood supply.