Signs leads r bad

I have an epicardial pacemaker and have worn out a few and have had it replaced. My leads r on the outside of the heart. I was wondering what signs do u have when leads go bad. My leads r about 18 years old. I just had a implant of a new pacemaker a year and a half ago. This is my 4th epicardial pacemaker and have been extremely happy where it is.

1 Comments

leads

by Tracey_E - 2014-01-29 10:01:23

They can tell if a lead is bad when they do the checks. I had one go bad and never had any symptoms, it paced right up until it was capped off to replaced it. It had to be turned way up so the battery life was very short, but it worked. If it stops completely, it'll stop pacing so you'll probably know pretty quickly! They would have checked them when you had your last replacement, also. If there are any signs at all when they do a replacement, they take care of the leads at the same time.

It's great to hear you've been doing well so long with epicardial leads! I don't know how they last in comparison to leads in the vein but the average on those is 15 years. We have members with leads that are 30+ years old.

You know you're wired when...

You have a $50,000 chest.

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I am 100% pacemaker dependant and have been all my life. I try not to think about how a little metal box keeps me alive - it would drive me crazy. So I lead a very active life.