Holter ECG monitoring
A Holter monitor records your ECG for a full day or longer while you go about normal life. A standard ECG lasts ten seconds in a doctor's office. A Holter keeps going. Small sticky electrodes go on your chest, and a light recorder logs every heartbeat. That adds up to about 100,000 beats a day. A short ECG often misses skipped beats that show up once every few hours. A long recording catches them. At Oberig Clinic, experienced functional diagnostics doctors fit the monitor and read the results.
What a Holter shows
The doctor sees how your heart rate changed by day and by night, on walks, on stairs and in sleep. The recording picks up rhythm problems: extra beats (ectopics), runs of fast heartbeat, atrial fibrillation and spells of very slow pulse. It also shows conduction problems. These are pauses and blocks where the signal gets held up on its way from the upper to the lower chambers.
The ST segment gets a separate look. Changes during effort can point to a heart muscle short of oxygen in coronary artery disease. A Holter also checks how a pacemaker works and whether rhythm drugs do their job. The most useful part is the link to your symptoms. You note in a diary when you felt a flutter or got dizzy. The doctor then sees what your heart did at that exact minute.
When doctors order it
A cardiologist orders a Holter when you have symptoms but your regular ECG looks normal. Common reasons: a fluttering or "skipping" feeling, a pounding heart, dizziness, fainting with no clear cause, shortness of breath and chest pain. You may need one after a heart attack, with heart failure, or before and after treatment for an arrhythmia. Athletes sometimes get one before heavy training, and so do people who have had a sudden cardiac death in the family and want to know whether they carry the same risk. Children get a Holter on the same grounds, referred by a pediatric cardiologist.
Start with a cardiologist consultation. The doctor will hear you out, run an ECG and tell you how many days of recording you need.
How it works and which type you need
The kit has a few sticky electrodes on your chest, thin leads and a recorder. The recorder is a bit bigger than a matchbox. You wear it on a belt or in a shoulder pouch. It stores the signal in memory. It sends nothing anywhere and cannot shock you. After removal, the data goes into a computer. Software splits it into single beats, and the doctor checks the doubtful parts by eye. At our clinic the analysis runs on a GE software system with detailed signal processing.
The length depends on how often your symptoms come. A 24-hour recording works for daily symptoms. A 48-hour one gives a better chance to catch a rare episode. If the flutters come once every few days, a 3-day or 5-day recording helps. For that we use Mawi, a small wireless device that sits on your chest and barely gets in the way.
How to prepare
No special prep is needed. You don't have to fast. Shower the evening before or that morning. You won't be able to wash fully for the next day or two. Skip creams, oils and lotions on your chest. Electrodes don't stick well to oily skin. Wear loose clothes that open easily. Bring old ECGs, discharge notes and a list of your medicines. Should you stop any rhythm drugs for the test? Only your cardiologist can decide that. Don't change anything on your own.
How the monitor is fitted
- Come to the functional diagnostics room in comfortable clothes, with no cream on your chest.
- A nurse or doctor cleans the skin. Men may need a small patch of chest hair shaved.
- 5-7 single-use electrodes go on your chest. Tape holds the leads in place.
- The recorder is switched on, the signal is checked and you get a diary.
- After 24 or 48 hours, or a few days, you come back. The monitor comes off and the data goes to the doctor.
The whole fitting takes 10-15 minutes. Kids get it the same way, just with smaller electrodes. Parents learn how to keep an eye on the leads.
What to avoid while you wear it
The main rule is simple. Live as usual. Go to work, take the stairs, go for walks. Your normal routine is exactly what the doctor needs to see. There are only a few limits.
Keep the wired recorder and the electrodes dry. Showers and baths wait until the day it comes off. Avoid X-rays, MRI, CT and physiotherapy during the recording. Keep your phone away from the recorder. Don't use an electric blanket. Don't stand for long next to a microwave or strong magnets. Don't pull the leads and don't sleep on your stomach, or an electrode may come loose. Take your medicines as usual unless your doctor says otherwise.
Fill in the diary honestly. Write down when you got up and went to bed, when you took your pills, when you walked, climbed stairs, argued with someone or felt stressed at work. Note any feeling in your chest. Without the diary it's much harder to match a finding to a symptom.
Reading the results
The report is more than a list of numbers. The doctor describes your main rhythm, your heart rate over the day, every arrhythmia episode, pauses and ST changes. Then the doctor matches them to your diary. The figures below are rough. Your cardiologist reads the result together with your symptoms and other tests.
| What is checked | Rough guide for adults |
|---|---|
| Average daytime pulse | about 60-90 bpm |
| Pulse in sleep | lower than by day, may be 45-60 bpm |
| Single extra beats | common in healthy people too |
| Pauses | up to 2 seconds usually don't matter |
| ST segment | no significant shifts |
Normal recording, but the symptoms stay? The doctor may suggest a longer one. If an arrhythmia shows up, next steps are an echo, thyroid and electrolyte blood tests and sometimes a stress test. All of this is done in our functional diagnostics room and lab. A finding on a Holter is not a verdict. Many rhythm problems respond well to treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take it off at home?
Better not. You bring the monitor back at the set time. The staff remove the electrodes and download the data. If an electrode comes loose, press it back and call the clinic.
Can I exercise?
Normal activity, yes. Put off hard, sweaty workouts. Sweat makes electrodes peel off.
Will it keep me awake?
Most people sleep fine. Put the recorder next to you on the bed or leave it on your belt.
Can a Holter get it wrong?
It can pick up noise when an electrode lifts or you move your arms sharply. On screen this can look like an arrhythmia. Software flags the suspicious spots first, and then the doctor goes through them one by one to tell noise from real problems. That's why well-stuck electrodes and a good diary matter. A poor recording gets repeated.
How often can I repeat it?
As often as needed. A Holter is safe and uses no radiation. Doctors often repeat it a few weeks into treatment to see if the skipped beats are gone.
What does the price include?
Fitting, recording for the chosen time, removal and analysis by a functional diagnostics doctor. Ask about the report turnaround when you book.
How is it different from a regular ECG?
An ECG is a snapshot of a few seconds at rest. A Holter is a film of a day or more, with effort and sleep.
Holter ECG prices at Oberig Clinic in Kyiv
The price depends on how long you wear it and which device you get. A 24-hour Holter costs UAH 2,895. The full list is below.
| Test | Price |
|---|---|
| Holter monitor, 24 hours | UAH 2,895 |
| Holter monitor, 48 hours | UAH 4,645 |
| Mawi wireless Holter, 3 days | UAH 7,370 |
| Mawi wireless Holter, 5 days | UAH 9,475 |
| Cardiologist consultation | UAH 1,670 |
Prices are from the clinic price list as of 01.10.2026 and may change. Please check the current cost with our contact center. When you choose where to go, look past the price. Who reads the recording matters most.
Why choose Oberig Clinic for a Holter
- Functional diagnostics doctors read your recording: Oksana Korytska, a top-category doctor with 37 years of practice who started her career with 24-hour ECG monitoring, and Nataliia Mizina, PhD, with 41 years of practice.
- Analysis on a GE software system with detailed signal processing.
- Your choice of length, from one day to five, including the wireless Mawi device.
- Cardiologists, echo, stress tests and a lab in one clinic. After the Holter you can carry on with tests right away.
Address: 3 Zoolohichna St., buildings "G" and "V", Kyiv. Book online at https://my.oberig.ua/ua/appointment/ or call +38 044 521 30 03.
Holter ECG monitoring?
