Drug overdoses requiring temporary cardiac pacing; a study of six cases treated at Altnagelvin Hospital, Londonderry.

Drug overdoses in general are increasing and overdoses of cardiac medications are also increasing; some are associated with a high mortality. Temporary cardiac pacing has a valuable role in cases of hypotension related to dysrhythmia, or when it is necessary to provide overdrive pacing. However, despite technically successful and uncomplicated pacemaker insertion and restoration of cardiac electrical activity, patients developing bradyarrhythmia and hypotension after an overdose are in a high risk group.