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William H. Barry, MD; Robert H. Goldman, MD

JAMA. 1976;236(10):1152-1153.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

THE USE of permanent cardiac pacemakers for control of symptomatic bradyarrhythmias has become widespread, and the practicing physician is likely to encounter a patient who is being treated with one of these devices. We will review briefly some aspects of pacemaker function and methods of follow-up that we have found to be of interest to physicians as well as patients, based on our experience in operating the Stanford Pacemaker Clinic, where more than 100 patients with permanent pacemakers have been followed up for the past 5 years.

Technical Considerations

Each pacemaking system consists basically of two components: the pacemaker impulse generator and the pacemaker electrode. The most common power source for permanent impulse generators has been the zinc-mercuric oxide battery cells that provide a relatively constant output of electrical energy for 90% of their life and then decay rapidly to zero output. Pacemakers usually have four or five of these . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Cardiology Division, Veterans Administration Hospital, Palo Alto, Calif.

Footnotes
This article is one of a series sponsored by the American Heart Association, edited by Richard L. Popp, MD.

Reprint requests to Cardiology Division, Veterans Administration Hospital, 3801 Miranda Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304 (Dr Barry).

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