New concepts in electrotherapy of the heart

The pacemaker´s electronic resource is able to handle more challenging tasks, e.g., to respond appropriately to acute pathophysiological conditions. By means of an adaptive learning algorithm, it seems possible to automatically select the preferred pacing mode and pacing rate to be determined from the metabolic, contractile, and hemody-namic data. However, this biomedicai objective presupposes detailed knowledge of the relationships between sympathetic activity, type and degree of stress, and individual factors.