Heart failure is associated with increased risk of all‐cause mortality after transvenous lead extraction: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND: Transvenous lead extraction (TLE) is increasingly considered in cardiac implantable electronic device management. Heart failure (HF) might be associated with mortality risks after the TLE procedure. This study aims to assess mortality risk in HF patients undergoing TLE. METHOD: We searched MEDLINE and Embase databases from inception to June 2022 to identify articles that included patients with and without HF who underwent TLE, which reported mortality in both groups. The pooled effect size was calculated with a random‐effects model and 95% CI to compare post‐TLE mortality between the two groups. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included in the analysis. Each left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) increased by 1% was associated with reduced mortality by 2% (HR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97–0.99, I (2) = 74.9%, p < .01). The presence of HF compared to those without HF was associated with higher mortality rates (OR: 3.04, 95% CI: 2.56–3.61, I (2) = 0.0%, p < .531). There was a significant increase in the mortality rates in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) function class III (OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.29–4.06, I (2) = 0.0%, p = .498) and NYHA IV (OR: 8.5, 95% CI: 2.98–24.3, I (2) = 0.0%, p = .997). CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that post‐TLE mortality decreases by 2% as LVEF increases by 1%, also mortality is higher in patients with NYHA III and IV.