Case studies on the effect of exercise and hot water submersion on intracardiac temperature and the performance of a pacemaker which varies pacing rate based on temperature |
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Authors: | N E Fearnot O Kitoh T Fujita H Okamura H J Smith M Calderini |
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Affiliation: | Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. |
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Abstract: | The effectiveness of using blood temperature change as an indicator to automatically vary heart rate physiologically was evaluated in 3 patients implanted with Model Sensor Kelvin 500 (Cook Pacemaker Corporation, Leechburg, PA, USA) pacemakers. Each patient performed two block-randomized treadmill exercise tests: one while programmed for temperature-based, rate-modulated pacing and the other while programmed without rate modulation. In 1 pacemaker patient and 4 volunteers, heart rates were recorded during exposure to a hot water bath. Blood temperature measured at 10 sec intervals and pacing rate measured at 1 min intervals were telemetered to a diagnostic programmer and data collector for storage and transfer to a computer. Observation comments and ECG-derived heart rates were manually recorded. The temperature-based pacemaker was shown to respond promptly not only to physical exertion but also to emotionally caused stress and submersion in a hot bath. These events cause increased heart rate in the normal heart. Using a suitable algorithm to process the measurement of blood temperature, it was possible to produce appropriate pacing rates in paced patients. |
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