Studies on rehabilitation of patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers

Abstract

Since 1970 fifty-five patients have undergone implantation of cardiac pacemakers. Of these, 13 percent underwent the implantation for the last two and a half years. The age of the patients ranged from 5 to 89 years and was 58.1 years on the average. Twenty-five were male and 30 female. Of 55 patients, 8 died after implantation (mortality rate 14.5%). The mean age of the dead patients was 69.5 years and was much higher than that of the alive patients.
Except 8 dead patients and 2 other patients who changed their residences, 45 patients were analyzed in regard with rehabilitation after implantation. Improvement was obtained in 42 patients from NYHA functional class II-IV to I or II and 3 patients from IV to III. However, the rate of rehabilitation was rather unsatis-factory in consideration of degree of improvement and decreased in accordance with growth of age. No patients who had been engaged in heavy works preoperatively returned to the same occupations and were obliged to change their jobs or retired. As their factors there are age, sex and works.