The management of paroxysmal tachycardias using the Cybertach-60.

The Cybertach-60 is a bipolar multiprogrammable pacemaker designed for the automatic detection and termination of reentrant tachycardias using bursts of rapid pacing. From August 1979 to March 1984 in the U.S.A., 143 patients received the device; 91 for supraventricular and 52 for ventricular tachycardia. After a mean follow-up period of 1.8 years, 82% of patients with supraventricular tachycardia remain alive with the implanted pacemaker providing the principal therapy for the arrhythmia. Of those patients with ventricular tachycardia, 30 (58%) remain alive (mean follow-up 1.1 years) and use the device for tachycardia termination. In this group there were 18 patient deaths: 14 documented and not sudden; 4 sudden and not documented. None of the 14 documented deaths were a result of arrhythmia or pacemaker activity. The Cybertach-60 has proved to be effective in the long-term management of patients with reentrant rhythms, particularly supraventricular tachycardia.