The Downside of Right Ventricular Apical Pacing

The right ventricular (RV) apex has been the standard pacing site since the development of implantable pacemaker technology. Although RV pacing was initially only utilized for the treatment of severe bradyarrhythmias usually due to complete heart block, today the indications for and implantation of RV pacing devices is dramatically larger. Recently, the adverse effects of chronic RV apical pacing have been described including an increased risk of heart failure and death. This review details the detrimental effects of RV apical pacing and their shared hemodynamic pathophysiology. In particular, the role of RV apical pacing induced ventricular dyssynchrony is highlighted with a specific focus on differential outcome based upon QRS morphology at implant.