PRELIMINARY CLINICAL-EXPERIENCE WITH THE FIRST DUAL-CHAMBER PACEMAKERDEFIBRILLATOR

The lack of specificity of VT defection is a significant shortcoming o f current ICDs. In a French multicenter study, 18 patients underwent i mplantation of the Defender 9001 (ELA Medical), an ICD utilizing dual chamber pacing and arrhythmia detection. Over a mean follow-up period of 7.1+/-4.5 months, 176 tachycardia episodes recorded in the device m emory were analyzed, and physician diagnosis was compared with that by the device. All 122 VT/VF episodes were correctly diagnosed, as were 51 of 53 supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Two episodes of AF with ra pid regular ventricular rates were treated as VT, and a third episode, treated as VT, could not be diagnosed with certainty. A dual chamber pacemaker defibrillator offers improved diagnostic specificity without loss of sensitivity, in addition to the hemodynamic benefit of dual c hamber pacing.