Spanish Pacemaker Registry. 18th Official Report of the Cardiac Pacing Section of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (2020)

Introduction and objectives: This report describes the cardiac pacing activity performed in Spain in 2020, including the number and type of implanted devices, demographic and clinical factors, and data on remote monitoring.

Methods: Information consisted of the European Pacemaker Patient Card, data submitted to the cardiodispositivos.es online platform, the databases of participating centers, and supplier-reported data.

Results: A total of 14 662 procedures were registered from 102 hospitals, representing 39.2% of the estimated activity. The implantation rates of conventional and low-energy resynchronization pacemakers were 759 and 31 units per million population, respectively. In all, 520 leadless pacemakers were implanted, 70 with atrioventricular synchrony. The mean age at implantation was high (78.8 years), and the most frequent electrocardiographic change was atrioventricular block. There was a predominance of dual-chamber pacing mode but VVI/R single-chamber pacing was used in 19% of patients in sinus rhythm, depending on age and sex. Remote monitoring capability was present in 18.5% of implanted conventional pacemakers and 45.6% of low-energy resynchronization pacemakers, although registration in this system increased by 53% in 2020.

Conclusions: In 2020, in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the number of implanted conventional pacemakers decreased by 8% and cardiac resynchronization therapy by 4.6%. The number of leadless pacemakers increased by 16.5%. Sequential pacing was predominant, influenced by age and sex. Home monitoring played a fundamental role as a mode of follow-up in this SARS-CoV-2 pandemic year.