Abstract 16159: Pacemaker in the Elderly: A Nationwide Cohort to Determine Complications Associated With Pacemakers

• Published in: Circulation (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2020-11, Vol.142 (Suppl_3 Suppl 3), p.A16159-A16159
• Main Authors: Rojulpote, Chaitanya, Bhattaru, Abhijit, Gonuguntla, Karthik, Patil, Shivaraj, Karambelkar, Pranav, Buch, Tapan, Vuthaluru, Kiranmayi, Shrivastava, Sanskriti, Perosevic, Nikola
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0009-7322; 1524-4539
• DOI: 10.1161/circ.142.suppl_3.16159

IntroductionThe geriatric population represents over half of the patients who receive permanent pacemakers (PPM). There are complications associated with the use of PPM in the elderly. HypothesisThere is limited data on the use of PPM in the elderly population. We aimed to analyze complications and trends associated with various PPM device implantations in the geriatric population over the age of 80. MethodsWe used the National Inpatient Sample Database for the years 2010 to 2014 using the International Classification of Diseases-9 procedure code for PPM Implantation and diagnosis codes for complications associated with pacemaker use in patients above the age of 80 years. ResultsWe identified a total of 265,001 hospitalizations from 2010 to 2014 where patients above the age of 80 years received PPM implantation. Among those who received the PPM, 68 % of patients had Sinus Node Dysfunction (SND) and in-hospital mortality associated with PPM implantation of 1.8%. The majority of this cohort consisted of Caucasians (83%) and males (50%). They had a mean length of stay of 4.4±4.2 (mean ± SD) days. Various types of pacemakers implanted included dual chamber (72 %), single chamber (15 %), and biventricular (13 %). Complications associated with PPM implantation were venous thromboembolism (1%), cardiac tamponade (0.2%), sepsis and severe sepsis (1.1%), septic shock (0.3%), pneumothorax (0.2%), pacemaker hematoma (1.4%). ConclusionAs observed in our study, dual chamber pacemaker is the most commonly used implantable device in age 80+ geriatric patient population. This study identified a variety of PPM-related complications, of which pacemaker hematoma was the most common. Although there are associated complications with the use of this device, the benefits outweigh the risks as age should not be considered a barrier to receive a PPM.