What is Cardic Cardiac means near, around, or part of the heart and "cardiac" comes from the Greek word "cardio" meaning pertaining to the heart. A "Cardiac Monitor" is a special monitor specifically designed to count, display, and remember the number of times the premature baby's heart is beating as well as the baby's breathing patterns. When a premature baby's heart rate drops below 100 beats per minute or raises higher than 200 beats per minute an alarm will sound alerting the care givers of the problem. The care givers are able to observe the premature baby's breathing and heart at all times while the monitor keeps track of even the smallest changes. The cardiac monitor resembles a TV screen with leads and electrodes coming out of the machine and connecting to the premature baby. The leads look like cables or wires coming from the machine and fastening to the electrodes, and the electrodes look like patches attached to you