[Patient survival with pacemaker (author's transl)]

The survival rate for age groups from 50--59, 60--69, 70--79, 80--89 was worked out from 1065 patients with implanted pacemakers form 1963 to the end of 1977. In all age groups the life expectancy was under the survival of the general population in the Federal Republic of Germany. Analysing the data it seems that two groups of different longevity superimpose in all age groups; the first group shows an unproportional high mortality rate in the first 12 months while the other has an almost identical survival to the tenth year. The initial high mortality rate respective to the increasing age probably results in accompaning diseases; in this aspect further studies are required.