Temporary cardiac stimulation: after 50 years a still young method

Temporary cardiac pacing (TCP) is a 50-year-old technique but it is still young. It is used in all cardiology departments for saving lives of patients with bradycardia and hemodynamic instability. The know-how of TCP cannot miss in clinical competence of cardiologists that work in the cardiac intensive care unit. However, despite its wide diffusion, the scientific evidence supporting TCP is not so strong and in Italian hospitals the management of some aspects of TCP is highly variable, including indications as well as antibi-otic and anticoagulant prophylaxis. Due to the high risk of TCP-related complications, the 2021 European guidelines on cardiac pacing recommend whenever possible to avoid TCP before cardiac implantable elec-tronic device implantation and, in all cases, TCP duration should be as short as possible. In the last years, if on the one hand, TCP indications have gradually decreased, on the other hand high-frequency TCP during aortic valvuloplasty or transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures have progressively increased.