What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to assess how cardiac pacemakers affect the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese children.

January 10, 2026Heart Rhythm O20 citationsOpen Access

Impact of cardiac pacemakers on the HRQoL in Chinese children: A study based on specific questions of each domain of the HRQoL

DCDanlei ChenBeijing Hua Xin Hospital YZYi ZhangHenan University of Science and Technology XLXiaomei LiXi'an Jiaotong University

Key Points

The research aims to assess how cardiac pacemakers affect the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese children.
Conducted an observational study on children with cardiac pacemakers

Structured PICO

Does permanent cardiac pacemaker implantation impact the health-related quality of life in pediatric patients?

Population

134 Chinese children (median age 10.3 years, 51.5% male) with cardiac pacemakers followed up at a single center. Inclusion criteria: age ≥5 years, initial pacemaker implantation at age ≤14 years, diagnosed with sinoatrial node dysfunction, atrioventricular block, or complete left bundle branch block, meeting class I or IIa indications for permanent pacemaker implantation, and follow-up duration >3 months.

Intervention

Permanent cardiac pacemaker implantation (68.7% via endocardial approach, 31.3% via epicardial approach)

Outcome

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed by the Quality of Life Inventory in Children With Pacemaker (QLICP) scale (child self-report and parent proxy-report versions)patient reported

Pediatric patients with cardiac pacemakers maintain a favorable overall health-related quality of life, though targeted interventions may be needed to address specific psychological concerns regarding device malfunction and future life impacts.

Abstract

AbstractBackground Pediatric pacemaker implantation is the only effective treatment for conduction system diseases. However, little is known about the impact of pacemaker implantation on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese children. Objective To investigate the impact of pacemakers on the HRQoL in Chinese children. Methods A total of 134 children who underwent pacemaker implantation were included. The Quality of Life Inventory in Children with Pacemaker (QLICP) was administered to participants and their parents. General and clinical data were collected, and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25.0. Results ① 89.5% of pediatrics reported a Medium-to-high and High HRQoL level, 9.7% reported a Medium-to-low level, 0.8% reported a Low level; ② Among subscales of the QLICP, the median scores in descending order were: physical functioning 80.0 (IQR 68.3–90.0), social functioning 82.1 (IQR 67.9–96.4), school functioning 87.5 (IQR 68.8–100.0), psychological functioning 67.9 (IQR 53.6–85.7). The psychological subscale score was significantly lower than that of the other dimensions (P P > 0.05). Conclusion Most pediatric patients with cardiac pacemakers in China achieved favorable HRQoL, demonstrating reasonable physical, social, and school functioning.

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