Clinical use of intracardiac impedance: current applications and future perspectives

For over 40 years the measurement of intracardiac impedance has been proposed as a method of assessing the contractile state of the heart muscle. This technique requires the positioning of one or more intracavitary electrodes and the generation of an electric field from an alternating current source. Variations in the calculated impedance signal reflect changes in the ventricular blood pool volume adjacent to the electrodes. Intracardiac impedance measurement has been successfully developed as a research tool to assess myocardial contractility, and from this, clinical uses have evolved. Commercial rate responsive pacing systems use intracardiac impedance to assess the inotropic state of the heart. Further development of this technology might allow hemodynamic discrimination of cardiac arrhythmias.