The Paceport catheter: a new pacemaker system introduced through a Swan-Ganz catheter

We describe a new stainless steel, teflon-coated 2.4 F pacemaker wire with a flexible tip that can be introduced through an extra lumen of a specially designed 7.5 F Swan-Ganz catheter. The extra lumen opens at 19 cm from the tip of the catheter; this opening can be positioned in the right ventricular cavity. The pacemaker wire can be introduced at the time of insertion of the Swan-Ganz catheter or later when the need for ventricular pacing arises. The Paceport catheter was tested in 23 patients. Satisfactory ventricular pacing was achieved in 19 patients at thresholds between 0.5 and 4.0 mA (median 2.0 mA). The threshold increased by 1 mA during long-term pacing (8-24 hr). Attempts to use the pacemaker were abandoned when short runs of ventricular tachycardia developed upon introduction, while an exceptionally high threshold was observed in another patient. The Paceport system is recommended for patients who require hemodynamic monitoring and urgent ventricular pacing.