AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT OF PACEMAKER STIMULATION OUTPUT CORRELATED WITH CONTINUOUSLY MONITORED CAPTURE THRESHOLDS - A MULTICENTER STUDY

Pacing threshold is affected by many factors. A pacing system able to confirm capture at each beat and automatically adjust its output close to the actual pacing threshold is highly desirable. This study evalua tes the safety and efficacy of the Autocapture function of the Paceset ter Microny SR +. One hundred thirteen patients were recruited from 16 centers in 7 European countries and followed up for 1 year. All pacem akers were implanted with Pacesetter's low polarization, bipolar leads . The key feature of Autocapture is the immediate delivery of a 4.5 V safety backup pulse 62.5 ms after any ineffective ongoing low output p ulse. Holter recordings confirmed total reliability of this feature wi thout any exit block. The measured evoked response (ER) signal was sta ble over time. Acute and chronic pacing thresholds measured by VARIO a nd Autocapture tests correlated (r > 0.79) over the period of the stud y. The incidence of backup pulses was 1.1% during pacing. With Autocap ture programmed ON, the overall total current consumption was 4.1 mu A for VVI and 5.0 mu A for VVIR pacing. This study proved that the Auto capture safely and reliably regulates the pacemaker's output according to the prevailing threshold thus providing maximum patient safety and prolonging service life.