Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Dec 10;1(1):e000177.
doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2014-000177. eCollection 2014.

Trends in the incidence and prevalence of cardiac pacemaker insertions in an ageing population

Pamela J Bradshaw  1 , Paul Stobie  2 , Matthew W Knuiman  1 , Thomas G Briffa  1 , Michael S T Hobbs  1
Affiliations

Trends in the incidence and prevalence of cardiac pacemaker insertions in an ageing population

Pamela J Bradshaw et al. Open Heart. .

Abstract

Objectives: To determine contemporary population estimates of the prevalence of cardiac permanent pacemaker (PPM) insertions.

Methods: A population-based observational study using linked hospital morbidity and death registry data from Western Australia (WA) to identify all incident cases of PPM insertion for adults aged 18 years or older. Prevalence rates were calculated by age and sex for the years 1995-2009 for the WA population.

Results: There were 9782 PPMs inserted during 1995-2009. Prevalence rose across the study period, exceeding 1 in 50 among people aged 75 or older from 2005. This was underpinned by incidence rates which rose with age, being highest in those 85 years or older; over 500/100 000 for men throughout, and over 200/100 000 for women. Rates for patients over 75 were more than double the rates for those aged 65-74 years. Women were around 40% of cases overall. The use of dual-chamber and triple-chamber pacing increased across the study period. A cardiac resynchronisation defibrillator was implanted for 58% of patients treated with cardiac resynchronisation therapy.

Conclusions: Rates of insertion and prevalence of PPM continue to rise with the ageing population in WA. As equilibrium has probably not been reached, the demand for pacing services in similarly well-developed economies is likely to continue to grow.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trends in prevalence-adjusted incidence of permanent pacemaker insertion (per 100 000) by age group, 1995–2009.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Growth in the adult population of WA and in the prevalence of cases with a cardiac pacemaker, 1995–2009 (PPM, permanent pacemaker; WA, Western Australia).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trend in prevalence rates of cardiac pacemakers by age group, 1995–2009 (PPM, permanent pacemaker).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Median age and new cardiac pacemaker implants per million for 10 developed countries in 2009 (PPM, permanent pacemaker).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gregoratos G. Permanent pacemakers in older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc 1999;47:1125–35. - PubMed
    1. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Ageing: 1950–2050. New York, 2001. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/
    1. Mond HG. The World Survey of Cardiac Pacing and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators: calendar year 1997. Asian Pacific, Middle East, South America, and Canada. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2001;24:856–62. - PubMed
    1. Ector H. Rickards AF, Kappenberger L et al. . The World Survey of Cardiac Pacing and Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators: calendar year 1997—Europe. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2001;27:863–8. - PubMed
    1. Mond HG, Irwin M, Morillo C et al. . The World Survey of Cardiac Pacing and Cardioverter-Defibrillators: calendar year 2001. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol 2004;27:955–64. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources