Atrioventricular block occurring late after heart transplantation: Presentation of three cases and literature review

Sinus node dysfunction is a well-known occurrence following orthotopic heart transplantation, but atrioventricular block is rarely described. We compare the incidence and clinical presentation of atrioventricular block and sinus node dysfunction among the first 200 consecutive patients receiving heart transplantation at the University of Utah. Two of 200 patients (1%) required pacemaker implantation for symptomatic atrioventricular block compared to 13 of 200 (6.5%) who required pacemaker for symptomatic sinus node dysfunction. Of the patients with atrioventricular block, one had intermittent Mobitz II second-degree atrioventricular block and one had high grade atrioventricular block without ventricular escape. The most striking difference between the patients with atrioventricular block and those with sinus node dysfunction was the interval between transplantation and pacemaker implantation; time to pacemaker implantation in the atrioventricular block patients was 955 and 810 days compared to a median time of 26 days for sinus node dysfunction patients (P = 0.037). The patients requiring permanent pacemaker implantation were similar to those not requiring pacemaker implantation with respect to age, sex, ischemic time, and donor age. None of the patients requiring permanent pacemaker implantation was on amiodarone therapy within 2 months of transplant.