Temporary cardiac pacing

Temporary cardiac pacing is a minimally invasive or noninvasive modality used primarily to correct profound medically refractory bradycardia in patients in a hemodynamically unstable condition. Temporary cardiac pacing is also useful to support heart rate and blood pressure in patients with medically refractory chronotropic insufficiency that are undergoing general anesthesia for permanent pacemaker implantation or another surgery unrelated to the heart such as cataract extraction or cystotomy. Temporary cardiac pacing can be achieved using one of three different techniques—transvenous, transcutaneous, or transesophageal—each having its advantages and disadvantages. Because of the need for specialized equipment and a certain level of expertise, temporary cardiac pacing is usually available only at university or private specialty hospitals in veterinary medicine.