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Updated: May 13, 2026

Standardized Technique of Aortic Valve Re-implantation for Valve-sparing Aortic Root Replacement
Published on: December 11, 2017
Clinical impact of persistent left bundle-branch block after transcatheter aortic valve implantation with CoreValve
Luca Testa1, Azeem Latib, Federico De Marco
1Department of Interventional Cardiology, Clinical Institute S. Ambrogio, IRCCS San Donato, 20149 Milan, Italy. luctes@gmail.com
Insights
New-onset left bundle-branch block (LBBB) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation did not impact long-term mortality. However, LBBB was associated with a higher short-term need for pacemakers.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Interventional Cardiology
- Cardiac Electrophysiology
Background:
- Conduction disturbances are common after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
- Persistent left bundle-branch block (LBBB) after surgical aortic valve replacement is linked to adverse outcomes.
- The prognostic impact of new-onset LBBB following TAVI remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between new-onset persistent LBBB and prognosis after TAVI.
- To evaluate the effect of LBBB on mortality and heart failure hospitalizations post-TAVI.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 818 patients undergoing TAVI with the CoreValve Revalving System.
- Patients were divided into two groups: persistent LBBB (n=224) and no LBBB (n=594).
- Clinical characteristics, implantation details, and long-term outcomes (mortality, hospitalization) were compared.
Main Results:
- Persistent LBBB was not associated with increased all-cause mortality, cardiac mortality, or heart failure hospitalization at 30 days or 1 year.
- A higher rate of pacemaker implantation was observed in the LBBB group at 30 days, but not at 1 year.
- Low implantation was more frequent in the LBBB group.
Conclusions:
- Persistent LBBB after TAVI using the CoreValve system does not adversely affect hard clinical endpoints.
- LBBB is associated with an increased short-term requirement for pacemaker implantation.
- Further research may explore strategies to mitigate pacemaker dependency in LBBB patients post-TAVI.
Background:
Conduction disturbances are relatively common after transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Previous data demonstrated an adverse impact of persistent left bundle-branch block (LBBB) after surgical aortic valve replacement. It is unclear whether new-onset LBBB may also impact the prognosis of patients after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
Methods And Results:
Among 1060 patients treated with a CoreValve Revalving System transcatheter aortic valve implantation between October 2007 and April 2011 in high-volume centers in Italy, we analyzed those without LBBB or pacemaker at admission (879 patients [82.9%]). We further excluded those who underwent permanent pacemaker implantation within 48 hours after the procedure (61 patients [7%]), for a final study population of 818 patients. Among them, 224 patients (group A; 27.4%) developed a persistent LBBB and the remaining 594 (group B; 72.6%) did not. Clinical characteristics were similar between groups. A low implantation was significantly more frequent in group A (15% versus 9.8%, P=0.02). No patients were censored before 1 year (median follow-up period 438 days, interquartile range 174-798 days). Survival analyses and inherent log-rank tests showed that LBBB was not associated with higher all-cause mortality, cardiac mortality, or hospitalization for heart failure at 30 days or 1 year. At 30 days, but not at 1 year, group A had a significantly higher rate of pacemaker implantation.
Conclusions:
In this registry of high-volume centers, persistent LBBB after CoreValve Revalving System transcatheter aortic valve implantation showed no effect on hard end points. On the other hand, LBBB was associated with a higher short-term rate of pacemaker implantation.
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