Objective: To determine the opinions of patients regarding the withdrawal of pacemaker therapy.
Participants and methods: A cross-sectional anonymous questionnaire was administered to patients visiting an outpatient cardiologic clinic for routine follow-up visits of pacemaker therapy or patients carrying a pacemaker admitted to a hospital between 2021 and 2022.
Results: Three-hundred and forty patients answered the questionnaire. A total of 56% of the participants were male. The mean age was 81 years. The majority of respondents were very comfortable with their PM and felt well informed, with one exception: more than half of respondents were missing information on withdrawal of pacemaker therapy. Almost two-thirds wanted to decide for themselves if their pacemaker therapy was withdrawn regardless of whether they were ill or healthy. Almost 60% of patients would like the pacemaker to be turned off when dying. Women expressed this wish significantly more often than men.
Conclusion: Our survey shows that patients prefer to be informed on issues regarding the withdrawal of pacemakers as early as preimplantation. Also, patients would like to be involved in decisions that have to be made at the end of life, including decisions on withdrawal. Offers of conversations about this important issue should include information on special features of the patient's pacemaker, e.g., the absence or presence of pacemaker dependency. Knowledge about the pacemaker's functionality may prevent distress among individuals nearing their end of life when, for example, under the false impression that timely deactivation may allow for a more peaceful death.
Keywords: autonomy; end-of-life care; pacemaker; patients’ perspective.