title: Is right ventricular outflow tract pacing an alternative to left ventricular/biventricular pacing?
abstract: The right ventricular apex has been used as the traditional pacing site since the development of transvenous pacing in 1959. Some studies suggest that pacing the right ventricular apex may cause remodeling and is harmful. In the past decade, there have been a multitude of studies of the hemodynamic, electrophysiological, electrocardiographic, and clinical effects of ventricular pacing at other sites. Pacing of the left ventricle singly or with biventricular pacing has emerged as an effective and safe therapy for moderate to severe congestive heart failure in patients with prolonged QRS complexes. Studies of alternate right ventricular sites, like the right ventricular outflow tract, have given mixed results. Not all patients can be treated with left ventricular pacing, which is a time-consuming and difficult procedure. Right ventricular pacing is easier and less expensive than left ventricular pacing and further study of additional right ventricular sites seems warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Riedlbauchová
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kautzner
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hatala
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Buckingham
mesh_terms: D002036:Bundle of His; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D022062:Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans