Late Outcomes of Permanent Pacemaker Implantation After TAVR: Meta-analysis of Reconstructed Time-to-Event Data.

BACKGROUND

Permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is relatively frequent, and its impact on outcomes during follow-up remains a matter of discussion. Previous meta-analyses have yielded conflicting results.

METHODS

To compare late outcomes in patients after TAVR with and without PPI, PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched for studies that reported rates of mortality/survival, rehospitalization for heart failure (HF), stroke, and/or endocarditis accompanied by at least 1 Kaplan-Meier curve for any of these outcomes. We adopted a 2-stage approach to reconstruct individual patient data on the basis of the published Kaplan-Meier graphs.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight studies with Kaplan-Meier curves met our eligibility criteria and included a total of 50,282 patients (7232 who underwent PPI and 42,959 who did not undergo PPI). Patients who underwent PPI after TAVR had a significantly higher risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.21; 95% CI, 1.14-1.28; < .001) and HF-related rehospitalization (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.17-1.45; < .001) over time. We did not observe statistically significant differences in the incidence of stroke (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.55-2.08; = .849) and endocarditis (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.61-1.57; = .925) during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who undergo PPI after TAVR experience higher risk of mortality and HF-related rehospitalization over time. These findings provide support for the implementation of procedural strategies to prevent heart conduction disorder and, thus, avoid PPI at the time of TAVR.