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.

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.