[Competitive pacing in a patient with DDD pacemaker and bigeminal ventricular extrasystoles]

The ECG recorded from a patient with DDD pacemaker showed variable responses of the pacing system to bigeminal ventricular extrasystoles, dependent on the coupling interval of premature beats. For relatively short coupling intervals, the premature spontaneous event was detected by the pacemaker, inhibiting both atrial and ventricular output, and resulting in a relatively long pacing pause. In slightly less premature end-diastolic extrasystoles, in contrast, the pacing system delivered an atrial spike that was superimposed upon the spontaneous premature QRS complex (pseudo-pseudofusion); under these circumstances, the atrial spike was followed, at the end of the programmed atrioventricular interval, by a ventricular spike falling on the extrasystolic T wave apex (competitive ventricular pacing). This phenomenon, however, did not express a sensing malfunction, but was due to post-atrial ventricular blanking (PAVB), a short period initiated by the atrial spike during which ventricular sensing is temporarily disabled, so that no signal can be detected. Finally, whenever premature end-diastolic impulses occurred after PAVB, during the brief interval defined ventricular safety pacing, the spontaneous event was sensed, being followed by an earlier-than-expected ventricular spike, whose prematurity was aimed at avoiding the occurrence of an artificial impulse upon the T wave of extrasystole. In conclusion, despite several not sensed ventricular extrasystoles and competitive pacing, no sensing malfunction was present. This case demonstrates how complex can be the electrocardiographic analysis of a DDD pacemaker, owing to the many complicating phenomena related to this pacing mechanism.