Safety and Efficacy of His Bundle Pacing Validated by Extracardiac Vagal Nerve Stimulation

This is a multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized, interventional study enrolling patients with indications for permanent cardiac pacing according to the current European Society of Cardiology Guidelines on Cardiac Pacing. All participants will undergo permanent pacemaker implantation for HB or LBB pacing. Subsequently, an invasive electrophysiological study (EPS) and ECANS will be performed. The 2 x 2 randomisation will be performed, i.e. right vs left side superior ECANS and blinded for operator ultrasonography guided effective vs ineffective inferior vagal nerve stimulation). The randomisation will prove the feasibility and efficacy of superior ECANS and feasibility, efficacy, and reproducibility of ultrasonography guided inferior ECANS. All the measured parameters as well as demographic and clinical data will be recorded in the study database. Patients with an exit block or an increase in a pacing threshold of an HB/LBB electrode will be further managed by electrophysiologists from the research group. The management will be based on clinical assessment and patient's decision and may involve pacemaker reprogramming, pacemaker upgrade with a back-up pacing electrode implantation, or cardio-neuro-ablation.