Cardiac rhythm control devices.

More than 110,000 men, women, and children receive permanent implanted pacemakers annually in the United States alone, and thousands more receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators; more still are treated for a brief period with temporary pacing in critical care settings. Because of the prevalence of rhythm disturbances and the growing use of devices as a means of therapy, critical care nurses may reasonably expect to care for patients receiving or already using such equipment. Knowledge of its function is a useful tool at the bedside. This article discusses basic attributes and behaviors of these devices and methods of diagnosing and dealing with the most commonly seen difficulties associated with them.