EXERCISE TOLERANCE OF PATIENTS WITH ARTIFICIAL CARDIAC-PACEMAKERS

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 68  (11) , 763-767
Abstract
To determine their exercise tolerance, 20 patients with artificial ventricular demand pacemakers below the age of 70 were studied by bicycle ergometry. Only 30% of the patients showed a normal exercise tolerance, while 70% stopped the test prematurely because of leg fatigue, dyspnea or chest pain. In terms of their exercise tolerance, there was no difference between patients who developed normal sinus rhythm or rapid atrial fibrillation during the exercise and those who remained at the fixed pacemaker rate throughout the test. The exercise tolerance of pacemaker-patients is evidently not only limited by the fixed heart rate but mainly by the underlying heart disease (coronary heart disease, cardiomyopathy, hypertensive heart disease, etc.) and the general physical condition of the patients. In an age-matched control group of 20 patients 50% showed a normal exercise tolerance and the duration of exercise in this group was only slightly longer (21%) than in the pacemaker-group.