The system provides information to facilitate efficient optimization of programmer settings for cardiac pacemakers. It uses simultaneous measurement of a patient's electrocardiogram and peripheral blood pressure waveform in order to calculate, in real-time, a value correlated to the patient's pre-ejection time (PET) and, optionally, ejection duration (ED) for the patient's left ventricle. The peripheral blood pressure waveform is preferably monitored with a wrist mounted tonometer. Data including the electrocardiogram and peripheral blood pressure trace, as well as the surrogate pre-ejection time interval (SPET) for each heart beat and trending is displayed on a computer monitor, thereby allowing a physician or nurse to quickly optimize PET for the patient and adjusting programmer settings for an implanted pacemaker.