Results of pacemaker therapy in the German Democratic Republic. Organizational, methodological and technical aspects.

A review of the organizational, methodological and technical aspects of pacemaker therapy in the German Democratic Republic is presented. It underlines the importance of expeditious decentralization of cardiac pacing centres and the role played by an inter-disciplinary working group made up of cardiologists, surgeons and health-care engineers in establishing a uniform therapeutic standard. On the basis of data provided by the nation-wide registry of pacemaker therapy, statistical data on the numbers of pacemaker implantations, patient distribution by age and sex, indications and methods of pacemaker implantation and the types of devices employed are presented. Moreover, the current standard of technical development of pacemaker therapy in the German Democratic Republic is evaluated drawing on an analysis of this country's programme of pacemaker manufacture.