Leadless pacemaker 5-year outcomes: good news?

In the last 10 years, leadless pacemaker (PM) therapy has moved beyond the experimental phase and has become an established therapeutic option. A substantial body of data are now available, even with medium-length follow-ups, suggesting that leadless PMs are associated with fewer infections and fewer overall complications, particularly in the long term, compared with transvenous PMs. The introduction of VDD(R) pacing and, more recently, DDD(R), has expanded the indication area of these devices to a significantly larger number of patients. High costs, limited experience with replacement and the lack of randomized studies still limit their widespread adoption. However, for many patients, the leadless PM already represents the first therapeutic choice.