Pacing stress echocardiography

Abstract

High-rate pacing is a valid stress test to be used in conjunction with echocardiography; it is independent of physical exercise and does not require drug administration. It has evolved over the last 35 years, starting from an invasive (intravenous) right atrial pacing modality combined with an ionizing imaging technique such as radionuclide ventriculography [1], moving to a semi-invasive modality combined with two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography, using a transnasal [2] or transoral [3] catheter for transesophageal left atrial pacing, and finally evolving to a totally noninvasive modality with external programming in patients with a permanent pacemaker for right atrial or ventricular pacing [4].