Emergency Pacing Using the Fluid Column of a Cardiac Catheter

Summary

The fluid column of a haemodynamic monitoring catheter can be used as a conductor for emergency cardiac pacing. For this purpose a special fluid column pacemaker, the FCP was designed. The pacemaker generates a current pulse of 0.1 to 7 mA at fixed rates. It was tested in animals and patients. In all instances cardiac capture through the fluid column of a flow-directed balloon catheter was achieved within a few seconds. The FCP was also effectively used in one emergency patient in cardiogenic shock with sudden total A V block. The FCP seems an ideal standby device for emergencies in intensive care areas, catheterization laboratories and operating rooms, where right heart catheters are often already inserted.