Painful left bundle branch block syndrome successfully treated by His-bundle pacing

Abstract

Painful left bundle branch block (LBBB) syndrome is a rare cause of episodic chest pain associated with transient LBBB in the absence of flow-limiting coronary artery disease and myocardial ischaemia on functional testing. The aetiology of this phenomenon is not clear, but in many reported cases, these transient episodes of LBBB are rate related. The mechanism of chest pain is not well understood. Still, it is postulated that sudden loss of the ventricular contraction synchrony, which happens in LBBB, will induce a different perception of heartbeat in the brain with possible translation to the chest pain. Various treatment modalities were attempted in the past, including exercise training, medical therapy with beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers or device therapy with right ventricle pacing, biventricular pacing and lately, His-bundle pacing. This case report presents a woman with intermittent episodes of typical angina with periodic LBBB changes on her ECG. Telemetry monitoring and treadmill exercise tests show a 100% association between angina episodes and LBBB changes on ECG. Her transthoracic echocardiogram shows normal left ventricle structure and function, and her coronary angiogram shows no flow-limiting coronary artery disease. She has been successfully treated by His-bundle pacing, and her symptoms entirely resolved on her serial follow-up.

Keywords: Arrhythmias; Cardiovascular medicine; Interventional cardiology; Ischaemic heart disease; Pacing and electrophysiology.