Results
Baseline characteristics of the study patients
Baseline characteristics of the study participants are listed in Table 1. During a median 4.9 (4.7-5.1) years follow-up, 198 (18.4 %) patients (group 1, mean age 72.1 ± 9 years; 59.6% female) experienced progressive post-implant TR, whereas 877 patients (group 2, mean age 71.9 ± 12 years; 49.8% female) did not have progressive post-implant TR. The percentage of female individuals was higher in group 1 than group 2. Additionally, the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (paroxysmal or non-paroxysmal) was also higher in group 1. A higher percentage of sick sinus syndrome for PPM was noted in group 1 (group 1 vs. group 2; 63.1% vs. 53.9%; p=0.022). There was no difference in the distribution of ventricular lead position, pacing QRS duration, ventricular pacing percentage, serum creatinine level and medication used between the 2 groups.