Complex Care Exam Practice 2026 – Comprehensive Preparation Guide

Sensing refers to the pacemaker's ability to detect the heart's electrical activity via its leads. This monitoring lets the device recognize intrinsic heartbeats (like P or R waves) and decide whether to pace or to withhold pacing, ensuring pacing occurs only when the heart isn’t generating an adequate beat and preventing double firing. Pacing is the act of delivering an electrical stimulus; the rate is how often the device paces; battery status concerns the device’s energy and longevity. So sensing is specifically about detecting the heart’s electrical signals.