The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 20, 326-338, Copyright © 1975 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Transtelephone pacemaker monitoring: five years later
S Furman and DJ Escher
Six hundred nineteen patients have been followed by remote monitoring of
pacemaker function using ECG and rate or rate alone; 278 of 280 have had
battery exhaustion or electronic failure demonstrated. Ten percent of
exhausted pacemakers failed prior to the average longevity of the
particular model, and 32% (89 of 280) exceeded 36 months' longevity; of
these, 13% (37 of 280) lasted more than 40 months and 4.6% (13 of 280)
exceeded 50 months. The error rate is 0.7% (2 of 280). With pulse generator
longevity increasing, monitoring is done less frequently during the first 2
years, then calls are made weekly after 24 months.