Left bundle branch block in the elderly – a banality?
Authors:
Martin Dúbrava; Jarmila Jánošiová; Ján Šuba ml.
Authors‘ workplace:
I. klinika geriatrie LF UK a UN Bratislava
Published in:
Geriatrie a Gerontologie 2026, 15, č. 2: 77-83
Category:
Review Article
doi:
https://doi.org/10.61568/geri/50-6739/20260506/143566
Overview
Left bundle branch block (LBBB) is a typical age-associated pathology with both its incidence and prevalence increasing markedly with age. It can be caused by many conditions (including „new – modern“, e.g. transcatheter aortic valve replacement or COVID-19) and it itself causes many abnormalities (electrophysiological, metabolic, perfusion, contractile, remodeling), worsens left ventricular function and prognosis. Therefore, even in asymptomatic seniors without manifest cardiovascular disease with incidentally detected LBBB, we must actively search for its cause. Despite the fact that LBBB has been known since 1909, its diagnostic criteria are still evolving. The clinical significance of LBBB has so far been mainly linked to myocardial infarction, the diagnosis of which it makes more difficult. More recently, however, attention has shifted mainly to LBBB in heart failure, where resynchronization therapy offers a significant life improvement for a substantial group of patients.
Keywords:
geriatrics – heart failure – left bundle branch block – CRT
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Geriatrics and Gerontology
2026 Issue 2
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