Pressure-Volume Analysis Demonstrates Short- and Long-Term Hemodynamic Effects of Atrioventricular Interval...

Prior studies show that atrioventricular interval modulation (AVIM) therapy provides immediate, substantial, and sustained clinically meaningful reductions in ambulatory and office systolic blood pressures (SBPs) in hypertensive patients with pacemakers.

The goal of this study was to assess the acute and chronic mechanisms by which AVIM therapy reduces blood pressure and assess the impact of lead location on these mechanisms.

Acute hemodynamic effects were assessed by invasive pressure-volume (PV) analysis in hypertensive subjects (N = 16) with intact atrioventricular (AV) conduction. The impact of standard right ventricular pacing (RVp) vs left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAp) was also evaluated. Chronic effects of AVIM therapy were assessed by using noninvasive PV analysis with data from a subgroup of subjects (n = 32) from the MODERATO II study (NCT02837445).

Acutely studied subjects had average office SBP of 144 ± 25 mm Hg despite antihypertensive medications. AVIM therapy significantly reduced end-diastolic volume (-12.6 ± 14.0 mL with RVp [P = 0.003]; -18.6 ± 16.2 mL with LBBAp [P < 0.001]) and effective arterial elastance (-0.23 ± 0.39 mm Hg/mL with RVp [P = 0.032]; -0.31 ± 0.55 mm Hg/mL with LBBAp [P = 0.037]), leading to significant SBP reductions (-17.1 ± 10.1 mm Hg with RVp [P < 0.001]; -19.2 ± 12.6 mm Hg with LBBAp [P < 0.001]). Neither left ventricular (LV) end-systolic nor end-diastolic properties were significantly affected by AVIM therapy at either pacing site. Noninvasive PV analysis showed similar reductions in SBP (-11.7 ± 21.8 mm Hg; P = 0.023) and reductions of end-diastolic volume (-21.5 ± 19.2 mL; P = 0.005 vs control) indicative of reverse remodeling.

AVIM therapy acutely reduces SBP by decreasing preload and effective arterial elastance unrelated to lead location without affecting LV end-systolic or end-diastolic function. Chronic AVIM therapy reduces SBP and end-diastolic volume indicative of favorable reverse LV remodeling.