Marked troponin elevation after implantation of a permanent antibradycardia pacemaker

Transvenous insertion of endocardial leads for permanent pacing is often accompanied by minor myocardial damage, detected thanks to the high sensitivity of cardiac troponins. It is unknown whether higher troponin levels, commensurate with more severe myocardial damage, can be encountered after implantation procedures.

Over a 3-year period, 283 patients underwent an implantation of a full antibradycardia pacemaker system (pulse generator plus leads). Patients were required to have normal levels of cardiac troponin I (CTNI) on a venous blood sample taken immediately prior to elective pacemaker insertion. Post implantation CTNI levels were measured in all patients 6 hours after the procedure. Repeated samples were taken if high CTNI levels were found at 6 hours.

Elevated CTN-I levels were found in 167 patients (59%, 95% CI: 0.53-0.64), but only 5 of them (1.8%, 95% CI=0.8 to 4.1%) had peak CTN-I levels far exceeding the range of minimal myocardial damage (i.e. CTN-I >1.5 ng/ml). Implantation of the devices was successful in all patients and we did not observe any complications. None had clinical evidence of an acute coronary event before or during the pacemaker implantation procedure and coronary angiography revealed no significant lesions in the coronary arteries.

CTN-I elevations after pacemaker implantation may far exceed levels corresponding to minimal myocardial damage. This should be a matter of concern, especially if an early discharge is planned after pacemaker implantation.