Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffThe main complication of bundle branch block is a slow heart rate, which can sometimes require a pacemaker. A slow heart rate can occur whether the blockage is on the right or left side of your heart.
People who have a heart attack and develop a bundle branch block have a higher chance of complications, including sudden cardiac death, than do people who have heart attacks and don't develop a bundle branch block. Some people with bundle branch block after a heart attack need a temporary or permanent pacemaker.
Because bundle branch block affects the electrical activity of your heart, it can sometimes complicate the accurate diagnosis of other heart conditions, especially heart attacks, and lead to delays in proper management of those problems.
- Conduction disorders. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Arrhythmia/AboutArrhythmia/Conduction-Disorders_UCM_302046_Article.jsp#.T1QonfUzDTo. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Bundle branch and fascicular block. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec07/ch075/ch075i.html. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Sauer WH. Right bundle branch block. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Moya A, et al. Diagnosis, management, and outcomes of patients with syncope and bundle branch block. European Heart Journal. 2011;32:1535.
- Sauer WH. Left bundle branch block. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Heart disease prevention: What you can do. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/what_you_can_do.htm. Accessed March 4, 2012.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 30, 2012.
Find Mayo Clinic on