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Gary A. Katz, MD; Frederick R. Hood, Jr., MD

JAMA. 1970;213(10):1683-1685.

Abstract
Sixteen Alaska natives have been followed up after permanent cardiac pacemaker implantation, from July 1965 to May 1970. The indication for pacemaker implantation was persistent symptomatic complete heart block. The longest follow-up period was 57 months. The average follow-up period per patient was 17 months. There was no mortality during this time with a small number of pacemaker failures or complications. Many of the patients returned to live in remote villages. The success of this program indicates that permanent pacemakers can be used in patients who live in rural settings, far from hospital centers, as long as appropriate follow-up methods are employed.

Author Affiliations
From the departments of medicine (Dr. Katz) and surgery (Dr. Hood), Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to the Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Center for the Health Sciences, Los Angeles 90024 (Dr. Katz).

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