INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Conduction disturbances often occur after CoreValve transcatheter aortic valve implantation. The aim was to analyze which cardiac conduction changes occur in patients with aortic stenosis treated with this type of prosthesis. METHODS A total of 181 patients with severe aortic stenosis treated with this prosthesis and studied by electrocardiography between April 200...

Although treatment with permanent pacemakers has been extensively described in adults, there is little information about it in infants. Conventional sites for pacemaker implantation are the abdominal wall, subpectoral muscle region, subdiaphragmatic area, and the pelvic cavity. If the infant has a thin chest and abdominal wall, implantation of the pacemaker there produces an unsightly bulge and...

We report an 84-year-old woman who presented with right ventricular perforation 4 days after pacemaker implantation for syncope due to sick sinus syndrome. Median sternotomy revealed no pericardial effusion, but the pacing lead had penetrated the right ventricle and pericardium. When the pleura was opened, the tip of the lead was seen in the visceral pleura. The lead was cut in the pericardial ...

Chagas disease is a highly prevalent zoonosis in Mexico, Central, and South America. Early cardiac involvement is one of the most serious complications of this disease, and conduction disturbances may occur at an early age. We describe a young pregnant woman with Chagas disease and a high degree atrioventricular block, who required implantation of a permanent dual chamber pacemaker. Using an el...

BACKGROUND During implantation of a DDD pacemaker the following difficulties may be encountered: venous anomalies (the absence of vessels of adequate calibre or difficulty in subclavian vein puncture), arrhythmias during implantation (episodes of atrial flutter/fibrillation while the atrial leads are being positioned), lack of mechanical stability of the electrode in the heart chamber and inabi...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES About 25% of patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remain symptomatic despite optimal medical treatment. Some may benefit from pacemaker implantation. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of pacemaker implantation on the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient, the maximum thickness of the left ventricle, and functional capac...

Background—Infection remains a serious complication after permanent pacemaker implantation. Antibiotic prophylaxis is frequently prescribed at the time of insertion to reduce its incidence, although results of well-designed, controlled studies are lacking. Methods and Results—We performed a meta-analysis of all available randomized trials to evaluate the effectiveness of antibiotic prophylaxis ...

CONTEXT Prolongation of the electrocardiographic PR interval, known as first-degree atrioventricular block when the PR interval exceeds 200 milliseconds, is frequently encountered in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical significance of PR prolongation in ambulatory individuals. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective, community-based cohort including 7575 individuals...

INTRODUCTION Pacemaker lead implantation can cause thrombosis, which can be associated with serious local morbidity and complicated by pulmonary embolism. Few reliable estimates of the incidence of thrombosis have been reported. The contribution of established risk factors to venous thrombosis in patients with implanted pacemaker leads is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred forty-five co...

BACKGROUND To determine whether local complications at the site of pacemaker implantation indicate infection of the intravascular part of the lead as well as of the pacemaker pocket. METHODS 105 patients admitted for local inflammatory findings, impending pacemaker or lead exteriorisation, frank pacemaker or lead exteriorisation, or overt infection were studied prospectively. After systematic...