A sudden change in pacing rate: Normal or malfunction?

Abstract

Abstract A woman with a dual‐chamber pacemaker was examined for recurrent chest discomfort and palpitations at our hospital. The Holter monitor test recorded recurrent episodes of a sudden increase in pacing rate from 60 to 105 bpm, which corresponded to the symptoms. Orthodromic pacemaker‐mediated arrhythmia (OPMA), caused by ventricular lead dislodgement and atrial far‐field sensing, caused the recurrent episodes of a sudden change in pacing rate. The occurrence of OPMA may represent a rare but noteworthy pacemaker problem. To our knowledge, our study reports the first case of PMA that only occurs, and is maintained, in the DDI mode.

Keywords

• auto‐mode switch
• far‐field sensing
• lead dislodgement
• pacemaker‐mediated arrhythmia