Devices for tachycardia termination

Abstract

Remarkable advances have been made over the last 2 decades in the management of tachyarrhythmias. Simultaneous developments have provided new drugs, new surgical and catheter ablation techniques and new implantable devices. Initial enthusiasm with antitachycardia pacemakers was tempered by the realization of dangers and difficulties associated with their use, particularly in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia. However, progress has been made along several lines: (1) improvements in the automatic detection of target tachyarrhythmias; (2) the development of termination algorithms Hurt are more adaptable to spontaneous changes in the tachycardia termination zone; (3) improvements in the safety of termination algorithms; (4) development of automatic cardioversion or defibrillation for the management of malignant ventricular arrhythmias; and (S) incorporation of multiple pacing facilities in single implantable units.