Bad Lead

I have a Medtronic dual chamber PM implanted in 2005. After 9.5 years I was told in a checkup yesterday that my battery is running out. Meanwhile one of the two leads goes bad. I was told the data collection part quit working because of this. But the pacing still works by the other lead. But I found out my maximum hearteat is 50 now which is lower than 6 months ago.

My questions are
1. How could a lead suddenly go bad after 9 years?
2. Could a low battery affect the lead life？
3. Is there a chance that the PM box side have a problem and made a false bad lead alarm?
4. Can I ask the surgeon to double check whether the lead condition before he insert a new one?
5. If they insert the new leads and keep the old one in the chamber, would make it too crowdy in the vessel?

I really hope that they could use the existing wires during PM replacement so my active workout won't be interrupted.

3 Comments

replacing leads

by Tracey_E - 2015-01-20 08:01:44

Leads age. The average is 15 years but as you learned, some don't last that long. They can become impeded, the insulation can rupture, the scar tissue can grow around it to the point it doesn't work properly,sometimes they just wear out. They can probably tell you where it went bad, the report should tell them more than just that it's bad. I have an odd placement and my leads make a 90 degree turn. When one went bad, the insulation ruptured at the place where it was bent.

How long is it between your checks? I'm wondering if it was something gradual. Sometimes they notice something but keep an eye on it rather than say anything. As long as it's working, they generally don't make a decision or do anything about it until the battery goes.

2. It's the opposite, lead life can affect battery life. When mine went bad, they had to crank up the juice to get the signal through and it shortened the battery life.

3. Not likely. They can and will test it when they remove the box to replace it, but it's unlikely the box malfunctioned

4. They should do that automatically

5. If you only have two and are adding a third, it should be fine. They can leave the old one and cap it off. Most people have room for 3-4 leads in a vein. If there is any doubt, they can do a venogram, which is an iv with dye in the cath lab. Then they can tell exactly how much room is there. I did this because I wanted to be 100% sure before surgery what the plan was. If there was no room for the new lead, I was going to have an extraction which would be done by someone else. That's a more specialized surgery.

Thanks!

by mrhanchang - 2015-01-22 08:01:39

Thanks for the helpful resposes from Tracey and Cabg.

False Alarm

by mrhanchang - 2015-02-17 07:02:30

At a check up of my PM on 20-Jan-2015 I was told my battery was running very low. Meanwhile one of the two leads went bad. I was told the data collection part quit working at atrium end. I was worrying about inserting a new lead which could be a more complicate procedure. However eight days later in the surgery room the doc told me they found out both leads were good. All I need was a box change. The doc explained that when battery runs low the device may selectively shut off certain function and make the atrium lead appear not transmit anything. That was a good news and I appreciate the last minute double check of leads right before PM replacement.

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