The revised NASPE/BPEG generic code for antibradycardia, adaptive-rate, and multisite pacing

In light of evolving pacemaker technology and increasing interest in multisite pacing, the Committee on the Development of Position Statements (CDPS) of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE) created an ad hoc Pacemaker Mode Code Task Force in April 2001 under the chairmanship of David L. Hayes, MD, for the purpose of bringing the NASPE/British Pacing and Electrophysiology Group (BPEG) Generic Pacemaker Code (NBG Code) up to date. The task force, whose members are the authors of this article, designed a revised NBG Code in which three major issues Were taken into account. First, it was recognized that all modern pacemaker pulse generators are capable of extensive bidirectional communication with an external programming device, making them "communicating" pulse generators as defined by the current (1987) NBG Code. Second, it was decided that a means of providing basic information regarding the location of multisite pacing would be a useful ingredient of the NBG Code. Third, in view of the extensive antibradycardia pacing capabilities common in modern implantable cardioverter defibrillators and the availability of the NASPE/BPEG Defibrillator Code (NBD Code), it was considered unnecessary for the NBG Code to address the presence or absence of antitachycardia features. The resulting updated version of the NBG Code as described herein was endorsed by the BPEG on September 20, 2001 and adopted by the NASPE Board of Trustees on October 18, 2001. The structure of the revised NBG Code differs from that of the previous version in two respects alone: Position IV specifies only the presence or absence of rate modulation, and Position V specifies only the location or absence of multisite pacing (i.e., biatrial or biventricular pacing with at least two stimulation sites in each case) more than one stimulation site in any single cardiac chamber, or any combination of these. The revised NBG Code is deliberately configured to avoid confusion with earlier mode codes, and it is the authors 'hope that it will serve as an enhanced resource for communication among those engaged in every phase of the multidisciplinary practice of cardiac rhythm management.