[Right heart failure after pacemaker implantation]

Abstract

Background and objective: Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) secondary to interference pacemaker (PM) cable is a rare cause of progressive right heart failure (HF), which can worsen patient outcomes.

Material and methods: We present 3 clinical cases of right HF secondary to TR after PM implantation.

Results: In these patients the clinic is right HF, which can appear early, as in our second patient, or after years of implementation of the PM, as in the first and third patients. The diagnosis is confirmed by echocardiography, the most accurate 3D, followed by transesophageal. The 2D transthoracic can not detect it, because it has low sensitivity for TR associated with PM. Medical treatment is always the first choice, since any other procedure carries significant morbidity and mortality.

Conclusions: Probably this is a condition that we will diagnose with increasing frequency, because there are more and more patients with devices and, at the same time, the diagnostic tools are improving.

Keywords: Echocardiography; Ecocardiografía; Insuficiencia cardiaca derecha; Insuficiencia tricuspídea; Marcapasos; Pacemaker; Right heart failure; Tricuspid regurgitation.