Symptoms, cardiovascular risk profile and spontaneous ECG in paced patients: a five-year follow-up study.
Only few data are available about the course of symptoms, cardiac diseases, and spontaneous rhythm in pacemaker patients. Therefore, we followed the course of 308 paced patients (age 72 +/- 11 years) with a mean implantation time of 63 +/- 45 months.


RESULTS
The symptom triad of syncope, dizziness, and dyspnea improved remarkably in 93% of patients. Thirty-nine percent suffered from coronary heart disease. The risk factors of hypertension (47%), nicotine (37%), and diabetes mellitus (25%) were found significantly more often than in a normal population with the same age and sex profile. In VVI paced patients with sick sinus syndrome (SSS, n = 67) atrial fibrillation (AF) occurred significantly more often (42%) than in patients with AV block (n = 80, 23%, P less than 0.05). Only one out of 41 DDD paced patients showed AF at follow-up. VVI stimulation seems to favor AF due to retrograde conduction in SSS. Only 3% of patients with SSS developed second- or third-degree AV block. Therefore, atrial pacing is preferable in most patients with SSS.
Grimm
W
W
University Hospital of Internal Medicine, Würzburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Langenfeld
H
H
Maisch
B
B
Kochsiek
K
K
D000368:Aged; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology; D001919:Bradycardia / Q000628:therapy; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006327:Heart Block / Q000628:therapy; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012804:Sick Sinus Syndrome / Q000628:therapy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D013575:Syncope / Q000453:epidemiology