Complications of pacemaker therapy in adults with congenital heart disease: A multicenter study

Background: This study aims to investigate indications and complications of permanent cardiac pacing in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods and results: Two-hundred and seventy-four CHD patients were identified who underwent permanent pacemaker implantation between 1972 and 2009. The indication for pacing was acquired sinus node or AV node conduction disease (63%), sinus node or AV node conduction disease after cardiac surgery (28%), and drug/arrhythmia-related indications (9%). Patients with complex CHD received a pacemaker at younger age (23 versus 31 years, p < 0.0001) and more often received an epicardial pacing system ( Conclusions: The risk of periprocedural complications seems higher in the CHD population compared to the general population and more than one-third of CHD patients encountered a pacemaker-related complication during long-term follow-up. This risk increases for those who receive a pacemaker at younger age. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved