Pacemaker Essentials

Cardiology

Video course

by Kristian Webb

This hands-on course takes the mystery out of pacemakers and gives clinicians a solid grounding in pacemaker therapy. You'll learn how pacemakers work, what can be done in order to optimize a patient’s pacemaker therapy, and how to recognize and troubleshoot common problems. By the end, you’ll feel comfortable addressing the most common pacemaker issues without having a pacemaker expert at hand.

4h 41m

8 Quizzes

5 CME

What’s in it for you?

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After completing this course, you will be able to

Identify the different types of pacemakers that are currently on the market
Modify the different parameters in the pacemaker
Identify the most common pacemaker problems
Interpret pacemaker ECGs
Use pacemaker data as a diagnostic tool

What's inside

Free

Chapter 1

Cardiac pacemakers in medicine

Here we start with the basics: what pacemakers are and how they can treat a range of heart conditions. You'll also learn how to select the appropriate device depending on the heart condition.

9 lessons

35m

Cardiac pacemakers in medicine intro

What are cardiac pacemakers and how do they treat heart conditions?

Types of pacemakers

Pacemakers and sinus node dysfunction

Pacemakers and heart block

Pacemakers and 'slow' AF patients

Pacemakers and cardioinhibitory syncope

Pacemakers and heart failure

Who qualifies for a pacemaker?

Cardiac pacemakers in medicine quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 2

Nuts and bolts of pacing

This chapter covers the most fundamental setting for pacemaker function. You'll learn about how a pacemaker is able to "see" when the heart beats and is able to trigger a depolarization.

6 lessons

27m

Nuts and bolts of pacing intro

Unipolar and bipolar (vectors)

Pacemaker sensing and fixed sensitivity

Auto-adjusting sensitivity

Pacemakers thresholds

Pacemaker modes and nomenclature

Nuts and bolts of pacing quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 3

Pacemaker optimization

Pacemakers need to be programmed to regulate the heart rate, ensure patient safety, and improve battery longevity. In this chapter, you'll learn how we achieve this with pacemaker optimization.

10 lessons

43m

Pacemaker optimization intro

The right amount of pacing

Pacing percentages

Base rate and lower rate limit

Hysteresis

The AV delay

Rate response and sensor rate

Rate drop response

Upper rate limit

What is automatic mode switch (AMS)?

Pacemaker optimization quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 4

Biventricular pacing

Biventricular pacemakers are fantastic for managing a specific group of heart failure patients. Learn who is a suitable candidate and how these pacemakers are able to alleviate symptoms.

7 lessons

25m

Biventricular pacing intro

Who qualifies for a biventricular pacemaker?

Positioning a left ventricular lead

100% biventricular pacing

Diaphragmatic pacing

Troubleshooting diaphragmatic pacing

Quadripolar leads

Biventricular pacing quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 5

Common pacemaker problems and resolutions

Unfortunately, pacemakers are not perfect and occasionally go wrong. Learn to recognize the most common problems and how they are overcome through programming or additional intervention.

11 lessons

60m

Common pacemaker problems and resolutions intro

Failure to capture

Undersensing

Oversensing

Troubleshooting with vectors

Infection and lead displacement

Erosion and twiddler's syndrome

Upper rate behavior

10m

Pacemaker syndrome

Pacemaker-mediated tachycardia (PMT)

Coping with long first degree AV block — AAI ↔︎ DDD

Common pacemaker problems and resolutions quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 6

Pacemakers and the ECG

An ECG from a pacemaker patient can often be used to assess pacemaker function as well as the function of their heart. Here you'll learn to interpret the paced ECG.

7 lessons

30m

Pacemakers and the ECG intro

Pacing spikes

Pacing on a 12-lead ECG Part I

Pacing on a 12-lead ECG Part II

Failure to capture on electrocardiogram

Undersensing on the electrogram

Oversensing on the electrocardiogram

Pacemakers and the ECG quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 7

Pacemakers as diagnostic tools

Pacemakers provide a huge amount of patient information that includes any arrhythmia, heart rate variability, and lead data. In this chapter you'll learn what info is available and how to interpret it.

7 lessons

35m

Pacemakers as diagnostic tools intro

Battery life

Arrhythmia data

Tips for interpreting electrograms

Heart rate histograms

Intuitive diagnostics — fluid status and sleep apnea

Lead impedance

Pacemakers as diagnostic tools quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 8

Pacemakers and external factors

In this chapter you'll learn how magnets and electromagnetic interference can affect a pacemaker and how to make a patient safe during an MRI, radiotherapy, and other medical procedures.

7 lessons

29m

Pacemakers and external factors intro

Pacemakers and electromagnetic interference

Pacemakers and surgery

AOO, VOO, and DOO asynchronous pacing modes for surgery

Magnets and pacemakers

Pacemakers and magnetic resonance imaging

Pacemakers and radiotherapy

Pacemakers and external factors quiz

Quiz

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Teachers of this course

Kristian Webb

Board-certified devices specialist from London. Author and cardiology education enthusiast.

Teacher Profile

Medmastery

Nora Drenaline

Cardiology

Claim your certificate

All members receive a certificate for completing this course. For Pro members, the certificate comes with 5 CME credits.

CME accredited

All our courses and workshops are fully CME accredited. We provide USA AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Pro members can download their CME certificates upon successful completion of activities. Want to transfer these credits to your national system? No problem.

Learn how this works

CME at its best

Award-winning teaching method

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2013
Highly commended by the British Medical Association
Awarded in the digital category of the BMA Book Awards—London 2017
Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2017
Internationally accredited
CME accredited in the USA and EU with mutual recognition agreements in most other countries.
Trusted institutional partner
Used by residency programs and universities around the world to train their clinicians and students.
Top-rated by our learners
Rated excellent by hundreds of users on Trustpilot, an independent reviewing platform.

What’s in it for you?

Master the most important skills

Learn any skill in under 5 hours

Save time and money

After completing this course, you will be able to

What's inside

Cardiac pacemakers in medicine

Nuts and bolts of pacing

Pacemaker optimization

Biventricular pacing

Common pacemaker problems and resolutions

Pacemakers and the ECG

Pacemakers as diagnostic tools

Pacemakers and external factors

Claim your certificate

CME accredited

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal

Highly commended by the British Medical Association

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal

Internationally accredited

Trusted institutional partner

Top-rated by our learners