Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE
-
Pacing Clin Electrophysiol · Mar 2015
Risk of device malfunction in cancer patients with implantable cardiac device undergoing radiotherapy: a population-based cohort study.
Pacemakers (PMs) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) may develop malfunction during external beam radiotherapy (RT). We aimed to describe clinical practice in PM/ICD patients undergoing RT and to assess the rate and predictors of device malfunctions. ⋯ Although the rate of RT in PM/ICD patients is increasing, the damaging effects of RT on the devices seem to be usually transient. Our data suggest that high beam energy plays the pivotal role in inducing impairments in these devices.