Introduction: This systematic review aims to evaluate the incidence and predictors of pacemaker-induced cardiomyopathy (PICM) in patients undergoing right ventricular pacing.
Areas covered: A literature review was conducted using MeSH terms (Right ventricular pacing, Pacemaker-related cardiomyopathy, Pacemaker-induced cardiomyopathy) in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library until October 2021. All data reporting the incidence of PICM after implantation of right-sided pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) were retrieved from the eligible studies.
Expert opinion: Out of 3,625 articles, 20 studies met the inclusion criteria that included 5,381 patients. . The mean age of the patients ranged between 55.8 ± 13.5 and 77.4 ± 10.8 years. The mean incidence of PICM was 25.7%. Mean ejection fraction (EF) at baseline ranged from 48 ± 1% and 62.1 ± 11.2%, while mean EF at follow-up ranged between 33.7 ± 7.4% and 53.2 ± 8.2%. Three studies reported a decline of >20% EF at follow-up. RV pacing was associated with a considerable risk of PICM, with biological factors, such as male gender, old age, increased QRS duration, and chronic RV pacing burden playing an important role in the development of disease.
Keywords: Heart failure; LV dyssynchrony; electrophysiology; left bundle branch block; wide QRS.