There’s been a noticeable trend: anyone who has a stroke gets one, whether or not they’ve had even a blip of arrhythmia. You can be on telemetry for days with a rock-solid sinus rhythm, not so much as a premature beat, and still go home with a Zio patch stuck to your chest—just in case.
Doctors say they’re “ruling out paroxysmal atrial fibrillation,” which makes sense—once. But when every stroke patient automatically gets one, even the guy whose stroke was clearly due to uncontrolled hypertension and a pack-a-day habit, it starts to feel less like a diagnostic strategy and more like a reflex. Like ordering a side of fries every time someone coughs.
Studies say Zio patches only catch meaningful arrhythmias in about 5–15% of stroke cases. That means up to 95% of these things are just tracking heartbeats that were already normal for 14 days straight. It’s like filming a pond to catch a shark.
But hey, at least someone’s heart is being monitored while they're trying to figure out how to shower without getting the sticker wet. That’s something.
And if you’ve ever wondered why your patient went home with a cardio sticker after a neuro event—now you know. It's just standard protocol. Like putting everyone with a fever in an ice bath just to be safe.
