Prevalence of cardiomyopathy following pacemaker insertion in an iranian population; a cross-sectional study

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of pacemaker-induced cardiomyopathy in patients with pacemaker implantation and to identify the associated risk factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined all patients who were implanted with a pacemaker at Afshar Hospital Yazd in 2019 and wore it for two to three years. A new EF test was performed for all patients and compared with the old EF. If a reduction in EF of more than 10% was observed, or the EF was less than 50% due to another reason, it was considered HF. All data were analyzed using SPSS, version 22. Results: One hundred eleven patients participated in this study, 52 (46.8%) men and 59 (53.2%) women. The results showed that ejection fraction (EF) was more than 50% in 93 patients (83.8%). The mean EF decreased from 62.1 to 36.2% over three years. Statistical analysis showed that there is a significant association between diabetes and the incidence of cardiomyopathies in these patients (p = 0.016), but there was no association with hypertension. The mean length of the QRS wave in the electrocardiogram was significantly longer in the group with cardiac pacemakers than in the other patients (P = 0.49). Conclusions: We concluded that 22.5% of referring patients with implantation of a right ventricular pacemaker will develop cardiomyopathy within 2-3 years.