Permanent His Bundle Pacing in Patients With Congenital Complete Heart Block: A Multicenter Experience

Objectives This study retrospectively assessed the safety and efficacy of permanent His bundle pacing (HBP) in patients with congenital complete heart block (CCHB). Background HBP has become an accepted form of pacing in adults. Its role in CCHB is not known. Methods Seventeen patients with CCHB who underwent successful HBP were analyzed at 6 academic centers between 2016 and 2019. Nine patients had de novo implants, and 8 patients had previous right ventricular (RV) leads. Three RV paced patients had reduced left ventricular ejection fractions at the time of HBP. Implant/follow-up device parameters, New York Heart Association functional class, QRS duration, and left ventricular ejection fraction data were analyzed. Results Patients’ mean age was 27.4 ± 11.3 years, 59% were women, and mean follow-up was 385 ± 279 days. The following parameters were found to be statistically significant between implant and follow-up, respectively: impedance, 602 ± 173 Ω versus 460 ± 80 Ω (p < 0.001); and New York Heart Association functional class, 1.7 ± 0.9 versus 1.1 ± 0.3 (p = 0.014). In patients with previous RV pacing, HBP resulted in a significant decrease in QRS duration: 167.1 ± 14.3 ms versus 118.3 ± 13.9 ms (p < 0.0001). In de novo implants, HBP resulted in increases in QRS duration compared with baseline: 111.1 ± 19.4 ms versus 91.0 ± 4.8 ms (p = 0.016). Other parameters exhibited no statistically significant differences. During follow-up, 2 patients required lead revision due to elevated pacing thresholds. Conclusions HBP seems to be safe and effective, with improvement in clinical outcomes in patients with CCHB. Larger studies with longer follow-up periods are required to confirm our findings