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Pacemaker Emergencies in the ER

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Cardiology in the ER

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Abstract

Since their early invention, pacemakers have reached a considerable level of technological progress and a myriad of clinical indications. However, they have a reported complication rate of 1–6%. This obligates every emergency room physician to know and understand the basis of pacing and to be familiarized with the most common complications. Moreover, a fast and precise diagnosis has a considerable impact on mortality and morbidity. Hence, this chapter focuses on the most common pacemaker complications that could present to the emergency room. These emergencies can be divided into mechanical and electrical and range from mild to fatal. By including the most recent information from guidelines, reviews, and case studies, this chapter will give the emergency room physician a quick review of the complications, clinical diagnostic keys, high-clinical suspicion signs, and possible treatments. Additionally, a brief section about the basis of pacing is included. Other cardiac devices, such as defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy, are out of the scope of this chapter and will just be briefly commented.

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Acknowledgments

Images are courtesy of Ana Lilia Rayas Gómez, MD, Hospital San Jose, Queretaro, Mexico.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Cardiología y Medicina Vascular, TecSalud, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Tecnológico de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, México

    Carlos Jerjes-Sánchez

  2. Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Hospital Zambrano Hellion, TecSalud, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Tecnológico de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León, México

    Carlos Jerjes-Sánchez

  3. Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México

    Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Rayas

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  1. Carlos Jerjes-Sánchez
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Correspondence to Carlos Jerjes-Sánchez .

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Jerjes-Sánchez, C., Gonzalez-Rayas, J.M. (2019). Pacemaker Emergencies in the ER. In: Cardiology in the ER. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13679-6_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13679-6_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13678-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13679-6

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