title: A prospective experience with the lead integrity alert: new certainties and new uncertainties.
abstract: Lead fracture is one of the major complications in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy often leading to a series of inadequate shocks and thus greatly impairing quality of life of patients. The novel lead integrity alert algorithm by Medtronic (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is addressing this problem. We report a case of a lead failure being correctly predicted by shifting lead impedances about 4 weeks before the first episode of oversensing. Additionally, our case illustrates the new problem of how to clinically handle a patient with a highly probable, but not completely certain, ICD-lead failure.
authors: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hannover Medical School, D-30625 Hannover, Germany. koenig.thorben@mh-hannover.de
authors: Thorben
authors: T
authors: Koenig
authors: Ajmal
authors: A
authors: Gardiwal
authors: Hanno
authors: H
authors: Oswald
authors: Gunnar
authors: G
authors: Klein
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*