Car­diac arrhyth­mia with pa­ce­ma­ker

Classic pacemakers (PM) are used in the treatment of slow cardiac arrhythmias (bradycardia). Sometimes the heart alternates between fast and slow pulses; here too, the pacemaker is important in order to be able to establish medication that slows down the fast pulse. A special form is the wireless pacemaker. This is anchored in the right ventricle. As it is not possible to replace the battery here, older patients with slow atrial fibrillation are the main candidates.

Over the course of history, the spectrum has expanded to include intracardiac defibrillators (ICDs). These have the additional function of terminating rapid cardiac arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation). Patients with severe cardiac insufficiency, e.g. after a heart attack, are possible candidates for this. Sometimes a dyssynchronous excitation of the left and right ventricle of the heart causes heart failure. In this case, a biventricular pacemaker is implanted for resynchronisation (CRT).

An implantable loop recorder (recording of a 1 ECG lead over several years) may be used in the case of unclear arrhythmias (especially AV block or pauses) or recurrent syncope.