Permanent Pacemakers: 8-Year Follow-Up Study

Experience over 8 years with patients who had permanent pacemakers is reported. Eighty-five of the 112 patients investigated are alive, and 27 have died. The majority of deaths occurred within the first year. The complication rate in the 112 patients was fairly high; 63 patients required 1 or more interventions for correction of problems. Perforation of the myocardium by the transvenous electrode catheter occurred in eight patients. Symptoms, signs, methods of diagnosis, and treatment of perforation are described with special reference to ECG changes that may aid in diagnosis. Attempts were made to assess whether implantation of a pacemaker improved the prognosis in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.