Factors influencing survival of patients with permanent cardiac pacemakers.

With the advent of permanent cardiac pacing, technology has produced power sources that will last two, four, and even 20 years. The cost of these devices is proportional to their complexity and expected life. Therefore, the selection of an appropriate pulse generator should be based on the patient's prognosis. An actuarial analysis of 319 consecutive patients receiving permanent cardiac pacemakers was performed in order to determine whether prepacing factors influenced prognosis. The survival probability at 5 years was not influenced by sex, race, type of conduction defect, or antecedent disease. Survival rate decreased only slightly for each decade of life, but even in the ninth decade there was an acceptable prognosis.