Hemodynamic Sensors: What Clinical Value Do They Have in Heart Failure?

Up to recent years, electrical pacing has mainly been intended as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders due to either atrial disorders or atrioventricular conduction defects. In order to synchronize the exogenous stimulation with the intrinsic activity, pacing devices are provided with electrical sensors and sensing circuits which reliably detect the depolarization spread in atrium and ventricle [1,2]. Conventional pacemakers (PMs) and implantable defibrillators (ICDs), however, only regulate their function according to the timing of electrical cardiac activity, while information on the force developed by myocardial contraction and the related hemodynamic variables is lacking.