No Survival Difference With or Without Pacemaker After TAVR

A comparison of long-term survival between patients who either did or did not undergo permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) revealed no differences, according to results of the SWEDEHEART observational study.

The nationwide population-based cohort study included all patients who underwent transfemoral TAVR in Sweden from 2008 to 2018.

Most Frequent Complications

While newer-generation aortic valve prostheses are less likely to necessitate PPI, the need for PPI is higher after TAVR than after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), and the need for PPI remains the most frequent complication after TAVR, the study authors noted. Use of self-expandable valves, deep prosthetic valve implantation, preprocedural conduction disturbances, older age, and a high number of comorbidities are among the risk factors for PPI following TAVR.

With prior studies producing conflicting results, the authors stated, the impact of PPI after TAVR remains unknown. Expanding use of TAVR to include younger and low-risk patients with a long life expectancy underscores the importance of gaining greater understand of the impact of PPI after TAVR. Accordingly, the study was conducted to investigate long-term, clinically important outcomes in this post-TAVR population.

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