Sex and Permanent Pacemaker Implantation After Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

We performed a nationwide population-based cohort study to investigate sex differences in the rate of permanent pacemaker implantation after surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). This study included all adult patients who underwent primary AVR in Sweden between 2005 and 2018. Study data were obtained from the Swedish Web system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies (SWEDEHEART) registry and other Swedish national health-data registers. The rate of permanent pacemaker implantation within 30 days of surgery AVR was compared between men and women. We estimated propensity scores that were used for inverse probability of treatment weighting to account for sex differences in patient characteristics. A total of 18 131 patients were included, 11 657 men (64%) and 6474 women (36%). The rate of permanent pacemaker implantation did not differ between women (3.8%; 95% CI, 3.2%-4.3%) and men (3.7%; 95% CI, 3.3%-4.1%; P = .831). In patients aged