A prospective experience with the lead integrity alert: new certainties and new uncertainties.
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.
Koenig
Thorben
T
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hannover Medical School, D-30625 Hannover, Germany. koenig.thorben@mh-hannover.de
Gardiwal
Ajmal
A
Oswald
Hanno
H
Klein
Gunnar
G
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*