New-onset persistent left bundle branch block following sutureless surgical aortic valve replacement triples the risk of permanent pacemaker implantation, research shows.

Patients who develop such conduction disturbances after the procedure may also experience a drop in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), according to an international team of cardiologists.

They add that their findings suggest the need for a prolonged monitoring strategy in adults with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis undergoing sutureless surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR).

Although new-onset persistent left bundle branch block (LBBB) is a known complication of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and conventional SAVR, its incidence and prognostic value in the sutureless setting is less well understood.