Temporary cardiac pacing: causes, recognition, and management of failure to pace

Proper management of temporary cardiac pacing is based on the knowledge of the system's vulnerable points and the practice of preventive maintenance measures. This article has described emergency measures for and systematic analysis of pacing failure keyed by the presence or absence of pacing spikes, as well as the correction of such failures. The authors have addressed only one aspect of pacing failure, however. The reader is also encouraged to become familiar with sensing failure and the complications of insertion of pacing catheters.