Evaluation of maintenance of cardiac output during DDD and VVI pacing by exercise Doppler echocardiography]

To evaluate the efficacy of DDD pacing for cardiac reserve, we assessed increases in the stroke volume and cardiac output during randomized treadmill exercise in 16 patients by DDD and fixed-rate ventricular (VVI) pacing. The stroke volume index and cardiac index were determined using suprasternal Doppler measurements. Ten patients who showed sinus rhythm during exercise were excluded from this study. Compared with the findings during VVI pacing, those during DDD pacing showed: 1) a greater exercise-induced positive chronotropic response (mean maximum heart rate 122 +/- 22 beats/min vs 70 beats/min, p < 0.01), 2) a lesser increase in the stroke volume index (34 +/- 7 to 39 +/- 9 ml/m2 vs 31 +/- 7 to 49 +/- 11 ml/m2, p < 0.05), 3) a greater increase in the cardiac index (2.43 +/- 0.45 to 4.48 +/- 1.36 L/min/m2 vs 2.22 +/- 0.47 to 3.43 +/- 0.45 L/min/m2, p < 0.05), and 4) prolongation of exercise duration (6.35 +/- 2.00 min vs 5.97 +/- 1.81 min, NS). These findings indicated that VVI pacing promoted a greater stroke volume than DDD pacing, which provides a compensatory increase in contractility and the preload in cases without an increase in heart rate during exercise, however, the increase in cardiac output was insufficient due to the absence of a chronotropic response. In conclusion, a DDD pacemaker could effectively increase heart rate, causing a significant increase in cardiac output and extending exercise duration.