Predicting permanent pacemaker implantation following transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A contemporary meta-analysis of 981,168 patients

Heart block requiring permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation is a relatively frequent complication of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The purpose of this study was to perform a contemporary meta-analysis to provide an updated assessment of clinically useful predictors of PPM implantation post-TAVR. Medline and EMBASE searches were performed to include all studies reporting PPM post-TAVR between 2015 and 2020. Pertinent data were extracted from the studies for further analysis. RevMan was used to create forest plots and calculate risk ratios (RRs). We evaluated 41 variables from 239 studies with a total of 981,168 patients. From this cohort, 17.4% received a PPM following TAVR. Strong predictors for PPM implant were right bundle branch block (RBBB) (RR 3.12; P