Trend of the main clinical characteristics and pacing modality in patients treated by pacemaker: data from the Italian Pacemaker Registry for the quinquennium 2003-07.

AIMS: To assess the impact on clinical practice of the major published studies, we report the information collected by the Italian Pacemaker Registry (IPR) in the quinquennium 2003-07.

METHODS AND RESULTS: The IPR collected prospectively main epidemiological, clinical, and electrocardiographic data of patients treated by pacemaker (PM) in Italy on the basis of European PM Card. The number of reported PMs in Italy was 30,820 in 2003, 32,047 in 2004, 31,870 in 2005, 31,813 in 2006, and 31,146 in 2007, respectively. The median age was 79 years in all 5 years. Among the atrio-ventricular (AV) conduction defects, third-degree AV block was the most common occurrence. Of the sick sinus syndrome (SSS), sinus node dysfunction involved the majority of cases followed by bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome. Year-over-year percentages among the different indications remained stable. Syncope and dizzy spells were by far the most common symptoms. Dual-chamber pacing showed an increasing utilization in all the examined years.

CONCLUSION: Italian PM Registry data for the study period reveal a stable pattern of PM utilization and indications. A higher use of dual-chamber pacing in comparison to single-chamber pacing was reported for all indications, despite inconclusive data of the major randomized trials.