Pacemaker Followup with Transistor Radio and Stopwatch

¹ Clinical Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine

Pacemaker followup methods are described in which simple equipment may be used to time the pacemaker intervals with accuracy, either at the patient's side or over the telephone. The keystone of the system is the determination of the elapsed time for 100 pacemaker impulses by means of a stopwatch. Impulses may be detected by transistor radio or modifications thereof. Since most pacemakers are programmed for rate decrease with battery exhaustion, these methods are useful for recognition of impending failure.