Future of implantable electrical cardiac devices

Major improvements in implantable electrical cardiac devices have been made during the last two decades, notably with the advent of automatic internal defibrillation (ICD) to prevent sudden arrhythmic death, and cardiac resynchronisation (CRT) to treat the discoordinated failing heart. They now constitute a Major therapeutic option and may eventually supersede drug therapy. The coming era will be marked by a technological revolution, with improvements in treatment delivery, safety and efficacy, and an expansion of clinical indications. Leadless technology for cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators is already in the pipeline, endo vascular leads currently being responsible fir most long-term complications (lead failure, infection, vein thrombosis, etc.). Miniaturized pacemakers based on nanotechnology can now be totally implanted inside the right ventricle through the transvenous route, thus eliminating leads, pockets and scarring In the same way, totally subcutaneous ICD systems are now available, although they are currently only capable of delivering shocks, without pacing (including antitachycardia pacing). In CRT, optimised delivery is important to improve clinical responses and to reduce the non-response rate (around 30 % with current technology). Endocardial left ventricular pacing could be a solution if it can be achieved at an acceptable risk. Multisite ventricular pacing is an alternative. Besides CRT, neuromodulation, especially by vagal stimulation, is another important field of device research for heart failure. Preliminary clinical results are encouraging.