Permanent pacemaker implantation after transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation

The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation (PPMI) in a cohort of 358 patients undergoing transapical aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using a balloon-expandable prosthesis between April 2008 and March 2011. After excluding patients who had had a previous PPMI (n=36; 10%), the study group consisted of 322 patients. These were divided into two groups: patients who required PPMI (PPM group) and patients who did not require it (non-PPM group). Preoperative, perioperative and one-year follow-up data were collected prospectively. Twenty (6.2%) patients required PPMI. Previous implantation of an aortic prosthesis (P=non-significant), previous coronary artery bypass grafting (P=0.05) and coronary artery disease (P<0.005) were more common in the non-PPM group. On logistic regression, only patient age seemed to be correlated to PPMI (P=0.05, odds ratio 1.08; CI 0.9-1.1). There was no difference in survival rate between the groups after 30 days (PPM group 95%, non-PPM group 93.6%). Similarly, the survival rate did not differ after one year (PPM group 84%, non-PPM group 80.9%; P=0.3). The PPMI rate after transapical TAVI using a balloon-expandable prosthesis is thus low, and has no impact on early and follow-up mortality.