Effects of Atrioventricular Blocks in Acute Coronary Syndrome: Long-Term Follow-Up

Arrhythmias are the common, potentially lethal, and treatable complication of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Arrhythmic findings of ischemic cardiac events are well-known, but long-term results have not been scrutinized. In the study, we aimed to analyze the long-term findings of the atrioventricular block (AVB) in ACS patients.

This is a single-center and retrospective study of patients admitted with ACS and AVB. The primary endpoint has combined the outcome of major adverse cardiovascular events and mortality.

Seventy-six (89.4%) patients had 3^rd-degree AVB. Fifty (58.8%) patients are needed for temporary ventricular pacing and 4 (4.7%) for a permanent pacemaker. Although no cardiac death occurred during the 5-year follow-up period, the in-hospital mortality ratio was 30.6%. Patients with older age and lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) levels had higher mortality rates (respectively, odds ratio [OR] 1.088, [p=0.003], OR 0.912, [p<0.001]). Even in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and complete AVB subgroup analyses, mortality rates were associated with SBP and age (respectively, OR: 0.917, [p<0.001], OR: 1.107 [p=0.002]), (respectively, OR: 0.917 [p<0.001], OR: 1.087 [p=0.004]).

The study results are associated with a better long-term overall prognosis in patients with ACS with AVB, but lower SBP and older in-hospital follow-up are associated with poor prognosis.