Does a high percentage of right ventricular pacing influence the incidence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in myotonic dystrophy type 1 patients?

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Paroxysmal atrial tachyarrhythmias occur frequently in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) patients. Pacemakers, implanted for the treatment of bradyarrhythmias and including detailed diagnostic functions, may facilitate the diagnosis and management of frequent paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) that may remain undetected during a conventional clinical follow-up. The effect of right ventricular pacing on AF incidence is still controversial.

AIM:

To evaluate the influence of a high percentage of right ventricular pacing on AF in MD1 patients during a 12-month follow-up period.

METHODS:

We enrolled in the present study 70 MD1 patients (age 51.3 ± 5 years; 32 females) who underwent dual chamber pacemaker implantation. At 12 months of follow-up, the study population was divided into three groups according to the percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation: Group 1, the atrial sensing ventricular sensing group (ASVS; n = 22; age 52 ± 7.7; eight female) with a percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation lower than 50%; Group 2, the atrial sensing ventricular pacing group (ASVP; n = 24; age 50.5 ± 7.6; 13 female) with a percentage of atrial stimulation lower than 50% and percentage of ventricular stimulation higher than 80%; and Group 3, the atrial pacing ventricular pacing group (APVP; n = 24; age 56 ± 4.3; 11 female) with a percentage of atrial and ventricular stimulation higher than 80%. We counted the number of episodes of atrial arrhythmia that occurred during the observation period and the duration of each episode.

RESULTS:

We found a statistically significant difference in the number and duration of AF episodes between the three groups at the 12-month follow-up. In particular, there were more episodes (253 ± 30 vs. 80 ± 27 vs. 53 ± 32; p < 0.03) and longer durations of AF (8,700 ± 630 vs. 4,480 ± 975 vs. 3,853 ± 870 min; p < 0.03) in the ASVP group than in the ASVS group and the APVP group. Lead parameters remained stable over time and there were no displacements of the electrodes after implantation.

CONCLUSIONS:

In a 12-month follow-up comparison, we showed a statistically significant increase in paroxysmal AF episodes in MD1 patients with a high percentage of right ventricular pacing and a lower percentage of atrial stimulation.

• Authors: Vincenzo Russo, Anna Rago, Andrea Antonio Papa, Luisa Politano, Paolo Golino, Maria Giovanna Russo, Raffaele Calabrò, Gerardo Nigro
• Journal: Kardiologia polska (Kardiol Pol) Vol. 71 Issue 11 Pg. 1147-53 ( 2013) ISSN: 1897-4279 [Electronic] Poland
• PMID: 24297712 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Algorithms
• Atrial Fibrillation (diagnosis, epidemiology, therapy)
• Cardiac Pacing, Artificial (statistics & numerical data)
• Comorbidity
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Incidence
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Myotonic Dystrophy (epidemiology)
• Tachycardia, Paroxysmal (diagnosis, epidemiology, therapy)