Temporary inhibition of permanently implanted demand pacemakers

Temporary inhibition of permanently implanted demand pacemakers has been previously described. Demand pacemakers may be inhibited by waving a magnet over the region of the pacemaker generator or by chest wall stimulation. The former may not inhibit most of the bipolar pacemakers, whereas the latter may be time consuming and may casue patient discomfort. Another method is described which utilized a commercially available Cordis Omnicor Programmer, Model 166-B, to temporarily inhibit bipolar and unipolar pacemakers. By placing the programmer over the skin where the pacemaker generator is implanted and/or over the area of the subcutaneous pervenous lead and activating the programmer multiple times at a rate faster then the pacing rate, the demand pacemakers are inhibited. After testing the efficacy in vitro, the method was successfully tried on 45 patients. Fifteen of these patients had unipolar pacemakers. Pacemakers marketed by Medtronic, Cordis, Starr-Edwards, C.P.I., and Arco were tested. Temporary inhibition of permanent demand pacemakers is desirable under various clinical situations. The method herein described has the advantages of being simple, quick, painless, and is effective for both unipolar and bipolar pacemakers.