interrogation

Can someone tell me exactly what an interrogation is? I have seen it mentioned several times on this site. I've heard of PM checks but unfamiliar with the term "interrogation"
Thanks,
Jessame

4 Comments

Interrogation

by Pookie - 2009-01-04 07:01:04

Hi Jessame.

As far as I know a pacemaker check and a pacemaker interrogation is the same thing.

Pookie

PM Checkup

by SMITTY - 2009-01-04 07:01:26

You are correct Pookie, at least I think so, for what that is worth. Anyway, this is what Dr. ibear at Doc Around The Clock has a to say about that.

"Every once in a while when working the ED, we have a patient come in where we question whether or not their pacemaker is functioning correctly. In these instances we call the cardiology department and ask them to come down and interrogate the pacemaker. This is basically a technique where the pacemaker is checked via a computer to see if it is pacing the heart correctly and appropriately. Using the word interrogate in reference to an inanimate object always strikes me as funny. I always imagine the interrogator taking the pacemaker into an enclosed, darkened room, with nothing but a bright light shining on the device in question."

Now don't ask me who is Dr. ibear. Also, I think most of use "pacemaker checkup" in place of "pacemaker interrogation" because interrogation is too hard to spell correctly. I know I always use checkup for that very reason.

Smitty

Interrogation

by ElectricFrank - 2009-01-05 01:01:04

It is called an interrogation because the computer sends a message to the pacemaker to "tell all". The pacemaker responds by sending the data it has stored to the computer.

What is not so well known is that if the pacemaker refuses to cooperate the computer tortures the pacemaker.
LOL

frank

Torture :)

by BillMFl - 2009-01-20 11:01:04

Part of the interogation is when the tech sends a few millivolts down the leads (impedence test) to verify that the lead is conducting voltage to the heart muscle. For me, the "torture" occurs when the lead lead to my ventricle is zapped. Every dam time my heart does flipflops and I feel like I'm choking. If the tech sets the voltage very very low, its not as bad. They always tell me my ventricle is "sensitive". I think its more complex than that. Your heart can have electrical feedback in unpredictable directions. I'm fine with AV pacing, but go crazy with V only pacing. I'm an engineer by background and suspect that no two hearts are exactly alike. Feedback loops can vary from person to person, and I think that is a partial explanation for why there is so much variation in how we each can be affected by our pacemakers. And also why ablation results vary so much for so many people.

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