Impact of prior permanent pacemaker on long‐term clinical outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention

Background The impact of permanent pacemaker (PPM) on long‐term clinical outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has not been studied. Hypothesis PPM may increase heart failure (HF) burden on patients undergoing PCI. Methods We recruited consecutive patients undergoing PCI and carried out a nested case–control study. Patients with confirmed PPM undergoing first PCI were identified and matched by age and sex in 1:1 fashion to patients without PPM undergoing first PCI. Clinical data were collected and analyzed. The primary endpoint outcomes were all‐cause mortality and hospitalization for HF. Results The final analysis included 156 patients. The mean follow‐up period was 4.6 ± 2.9 years. The overall all‐cause mortality was 21.15%, without significant difference between the 2 groups (21.79% vs 20.51%; P = 0.85). However, the rate of HF‐related hospitalization was significantly higher in patients with PPM than in controls (26.92% vs 10.26%; P = 0.008). After adjustment for hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, chronic kidney disease, stroke, left ventricular ejection fraction, brain natriuretic peptide, and acute coronary syndrome (ACS), PCI patients with PPM were still associated with a greater hospitalization rate for HF (odds ratio: 4.31, 95% confidence interval: 0.94‐19.80, P = 0.061). Further analysis in the ACS subgroup showed VVI‐mode pacing enhanced the risk for HF‐associated hospitalization (adjusted odds ratio: 8.27, 95% confidence interval: 1.37‐49.75, P = 0.02). Conclusions PPM has no effect on all‐cause mortality in patients undergoing first PCI but significantly increases the HF‐associated hospitalization rate, especially in ACS patients.