RESULTS
From 2016 to 2017, there were a total of 46077 patients who underwent
TAVR implantation (Figure 1), out of which 6084 patients (13.2%) with a
prior pacemaker were excluded. Out of 39,993 patients who did not have a
prior pacemaker, 4001 (10 %) underwent PPMI during index admission
while 734 (1.8 %) underwent pacemaker implantation on readmission
during their six-month follow up. Thus, the delayed pacemaker group
(d-PPMI) represented 15.5 % of all pacemakers implanted post TAVR
implantation.
The mean time to pacemaker implantation post discharge for TAVR was 30.2
days (±46.9 days). There was a rapid increase in pacemaker implantation
after the TAVR with 68% (n=499) implanted within the first 14 days
(Figure 2). Thereafter, the slope of the curve decreased around 20 days
with a steady small rate of PPMI. In terms of causes for readmission
(Figure 3), most were due to complete heart block (49%) and other
being- bradycardia/non-specific heart block 20%, Second degree heart
block (4%), complications of prosthetic heart valve (3%),
tachyarrhythmias (6%) and miscellaneous (18 %).