Performance of implantable cardiac rhythm management devices.

Our data represent use, follow-up, and management decisions from eight independently functioning centers and most importantly, actuarial survival of ICRMD's that have been implanted for a sufficient time period to allow assessment of time versus failure. General patterns of possible target durations for adequate performance for present or future generations of similar clinical devices may be suggested by the data that we have presented. However, it would be inappropriate to conclude from these data that any presently implanted ICRMD would have a particular functional reliability. Furthermore, these data only summarized device hardware performance and cannot and must not be used to determine either short-term or long-term individual patient status, management, or outcome.