Pacemaker implantation and mortality: no role as a quality control indicator: Author ’s reply

We thank Dr Brough for her interest in our article. She provided additional data in her letter1 that further corroborate our findings i.e. mortality after device implantation (permanent pacemaker, ICD, CRT) is related to patients ’ underlying comorbid conditions including advanced age.2 Taken together, these data indicate that mortality is not a useful parameter for assessing and comparing quality or for public reporting of individual or institutional quality for device implantation. These findings highlight the need for future research to identify a more meaningful and robust marker to determine not only the quality for device implantation, but also level the ‘playing field’ for comparing and public reporting of quality of care for device implantation.

Source: Europace - August 19, 2017 Category: Cardiology Source Type: research