[Malfunction of a permanent pacemaker]

Forty years have gone by since the first pacemaker implant; this fact had strong impact in the life of thousands of persons. The objective of this work is to report the case of definitive pacemaker malfunction with epicardiac lead and review the literature concerning the important aspects of the causes and diagnosis of pacemaker malfunction. We consider that physicians dealing with patients implanted these devices must be prepared to diagnose and treat them adequately.