Pacemaker Diagnostics:

Abstract

Diagnostic information retrieved from a pacemaker offers the ability to improve patient care. Pacemaker diagnostic data provides information regarding pacemaker function and activity, lead function, arrhythmia occurrence, and data to aid in optimal pacemaker programming. Current pacemakers incorporate greater storage capabilities, more efficient means of storing and presenting data between follow-up visits, and more options for programming diagnostic functions and algorithms. The cardiac rhythm of the paced patient can be evaluated via real-time intracardiac electrograms at interrogation, surface electrocardiograms, ambulatory electrocardiograms, and by pacemaker stored diagnostic function that may include stored intracardiac electrograms. This article focuses on the various methods of obtaining diagnostic information regarding pacemaker activity, pacemaker function, and diagnostic information on cardiac arrhythmias. The current clinical applicability and limitations of these methods and the use of stored diagnostic data in the clinical follow-up and study of patients with pacemakers is discussed.

Contemporary Pacemaker and Defibrillator Device Therapy

“…However, longer durations of individual episodes, on the order of many minutes to days, especially if confirmed by intracardiac electrograms, are more likely to correspond to true atrial dysrhythmias and an increased association with clinical events such as thromboemboli. 41,42 Although device counters give a rough indication as to arrhythmia history, stored intracardiac electrograms have been increasingly used for validation of the true arrhythmia in pacemakers 43 and ICDs 44 ( Figure 5). …”