[Pacemaker substitution].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Petz.
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In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a region of 1,243,463 inhabitants, a total of 1,629 first implants have been carried out since the first patient was treated with permanent cardiac pacing (P.C.P.) early in 1692. This patient is still alive. In the last four years, the annual rate of implants was 185 per million inhabitants. The average age of patients is 72.9. The most frequent indication for pacing is the a-v block (64.5%), followed by the fascicular blocks (10.8%) and the sick sinus syndrome. No asinchronous fixed rate generators are implanted at present; lithium batteries are the power source of choice to-day. There have been 1,120 replacements in the Region, mainly due to battery depletion (89.9% of cases). A total of 442 patient deaths have occurred in 10 years due to neoplasms (17%), cerebrovascular accidents (15.6%), respiratory infections (15%), myocardial infarction (8%) and other causes. In 8.8% of cases the death was sudden. There are 1,179 patients in follow-up in the Region (948 per million inhabitants). A computer system, described elsewhere in these proceedings, allows a close follow-up of these patients along with the evaluation of long term pacing on a reliable statistical basis.
According to a recent national survey, 387 patients were treated by permanent pacing in 10 Italian centers, between 1961 and 1966. Of these patients 205 have died; 131 (77 males and 54 females) are still alive and no informations could be obtained for the remaining 51 (13%). The overall survival of patients treated during this period of time is therefore not less than 34% which is comparable to that of general population of the same age group. The 131 patients still alive have totaled 1,486 years of pacing and have used up to 784 pacers. Comparing the incidence of the most common causes for replacement during the periods 1961-66 and 1973-77, electrode failures dropped from 21 to 0.9%; circuitry malfunctions occurred in 10.5 and 7.8%; battery depletion rose from 36.8 to 69% of the cases. According to their clinical conditions, the 131 patients on long-term follow-up can be grouped as follows: 62% are in class 1 or 2 of NYHA; 26.7% are in class 3, and 3.8% in class 4. Moreover, 53.4% of patients are living an active life, having some sort of occupation and 29% are holding a driving license.
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