Abstract 17295: Effect of Atrial Rate-responsive Pacing in the Incidence of Sustained Atrial Arrhythmias in Patients With Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillators

Introduction: Atrial rate-responsive pacing (RRP) has proved to be safe in pacemaker recipients with chronotropic incompetence, but there is little data regarding its use in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) patients.Hypothesis: Atrial RRP may increase the occurrence of sustained atrial arrhythmias when programmed in ICD recipients.Methods: Dual-chamber and triple-chamber ICD patients were included in this multicenter cohort study. Patients with permanent atrial fibrillation (AF) or VVI pacing mode were excluded. The number and duration of atrial tachycardia (AT)/AF episodes were assessed by remote monitoring.Results: Data from 415 patients was collected after a 21.3±14.1 months follow-up. Atrial RRP was programmed in 90 (21.7%) patients and was associated to a higher atrial pacing percentage in the overall study population (51.2±33.8% versus 18.4±25.7%, P 23 hours was proportional to the atrial pacing percentages.Conclusions: Atrial RRP in ICD patients was related to a higher cumulative incidence of sustained atrial arrhythmias u003e23 hours. This pacing mode seems to have an atrial proarrhythmic effect not described up to now in ICD patients, especially among those with a history of AF. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif