Beneficial effects of atrioventricular sequential pacing on cardiac output and left ventricular filling assessed with pulsed Doppler echocardiography.

There has been increased interest in the beneficial effects of atrio-ventricular (AV) pacing over ventricular (V) pacing. This study attempted to evaluate the changes in cardiac output and left ventricular filling dynamics when the pacing mode was switched from V pacing to AV pacing. Study population consisted of 26 patients with multiprogrammable AV pacemakers. Cardiac output was determined as a product of echocardiographically determined cross sectional area of the aortic annulus and Doppler-determined velocity integral of left ventricular outflow over systole. Left ventricular peak rapid filling rate (PFR) and peak atrial filling velocity to peak rapid filling velocity ratio (A/R) were determined from measurements at the mitral annulus. Cardiac output showed a significant improvement when the pacing mode was switched from V to AV pacing, and the percent change ranged from 3 to 73% (average 26%). The improvement in cardiac output brought about by AV synchrony was greater in patients with smaller PFR (r = -0.71, p less than 0.01) and larger A/R ratio (r = 0.77, p less than 0.01). On the other hand, PFR was greater with V pacing than with AV pacing. Greater increment of the PFR was produced by the loss of atrial contraction in patients with smaller PFR (r = -0.82, p less than 0.01) and larger A/R ratio (r = 0.76, p less than 0.01). Thus, AV pacing provides a great improvement in left ventricular filling, i.e., cardiac output, which cannot be obtained with V pacing even with the compensatory enhancement of left ventricular rapid filling. These beneficial effects of AV pacing seemed to be greater in patients with impaired left ventricular rapid filling.