Estimates of the prevalence and importance of significant tricuspid regurgitation (STR) related to implantable device leads are based mainly on case reports, small observational studies, or mixed samples that include defibrillators. We sought to assess whether patients with permanent pacemaker (PPM) leads have an increased risk of STR and to determine mortality associated with PPM-related TR in a large longitudinal single-center cohort. We examined the prevalence of STR (defined as moderate-severe or ≥3+) among all echocardiograms performed from 2005 to 2011 excluding those with defibrillators. We then examined mortality risk according to the prevalence of PPM and STR after adjusting for cardiac co-morbidities, left ventricular systolic/diastolic function, and pulmonary artery hypertension. We screened 93,592 echocardiograms (1,245 with PPM) in 58,556 individual patients (634 with PPM). The prevalence of STR was higher in patients after PPM placement (mean age 79 ± 3 years; 54% men) compared with those without a PPM (adjusted odds ratio 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.54 to 3.49; p <0.0001). Among patients with a PPM lead, the presence of STR was associated with increased mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 1.40; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.11, p = 0.027, vs no STR). Compared with having neither a PPM lead nor STR, adjusted hazard ratios for death were 2.13 (95% CI 1.93 to 2.34) for STR but no PPM, 1.04 (0.89 to 1.22) for PPM without STR, and 1.55 (1.13 to 2.14) for PPM with STR. In conclusion, in a sample comprising >58,000 individual patients, PPM leads are associated with higher risk of STR after adjustment for left ventricular systolic/diastolic function and pulmonary artery hypertension; similarly to STR from other cardiac pathologies, PPM-related STR is associated with increased mortality.
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