[Pacemaker syndrome without a pacemaker]

Circulatory consequences of cardiac arrhythmias are not always evident. Proper interpretation of the clinical symptoms in certain cases requires assessment of the patients' other hemodynamic characteristics. The authors present the case of a patient with left ventricular hypertrophy, who developed severe circulatory failure at the time of artrioventricular dyssynchrony in association with junctional rhythm. Analogy between the circulatory consequences of the junctional rhythm and ventricular pacing was documented by hemodynamic measurements. The patient was subsequently treated by implanting an atrioventricular pacemaker.