pacemaker warranty

I have a St. Jude Anthem cardiac resynchronization device pacemaker (3 leads) for the second time in 3 years and 3 months. I was told originally the pacemaker had a warranty of 5 years and now they are telling me that the warranty doesn't apply in my case because it is my left ventricle that needs so much power that the battery ran down in 3 years and 3 months. I can't find the warranty online and I can't seem to get any straight answers about what the warranty does cover. Have any of you had any experience with this and, if so, could you share with me what you found out? The way my left ventricle pulls power, a new pacemaker every 3 years is going to be part of my regular routine. The only other option is to remove and try a different location for the lead to that ventricle but my electrophysiologist tells me there is a mortality rate to doing that and he does not recommend it. Of course if the lead quits working we won't have any choice but that hasn't happened yet. I am very frustrated with all this.

2 Comments

Hear you loud & clear!

by sunny@heart - 2013-06-20 02:06:00

I was told my medtronic CRD would last 10 years.... hmmm... 2004, 2008, 2013.... it does seem to depend on how much the devise is utilized.... mine paces almost constantly, I have a few episodes of a-fib ( fewer now that mitral valve repaired & a maze procedure done) and a few seconds of v tach,,,,
It makes sense to me that if I use it more often, the battery will wear down sooner and that it would be difficult to predict.... from the way I have felt the past few days I
wouldn't get very far without one! i have 3 leads.... so they all pull juice I guess & left ventricle even more I think.... so it's not like an ordinary warranty.... 3-4 years is frustrating, but probably not unusual for some of us....
Sunny

batteries

by Tracey_E - 2013-06-20 08:06:33

CRT can run through batteries pretty quickly. My understanding is unless the battery is defective, the warranty doesn't cover the battery replacement.

You know you're wired when...

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