Longevity of lead?

Hi I've had a icd for nearly 5 years now and recently I've been wondering about the longevity of the lead, I've asked my doctor about the icd life but not the lead. I'm 20 years old, will my lead last me the rest of my life or will it need to be replaced. I plan on asking my doctor during my next check up however if someone here could help me that would be awesome!
Thanks

4 Comments

My Leads

by Glad18 - 2016-04-30 05:04:12

Hi,

I've had my leads (dual) since 2004. So far, they're still okay. I'm on my second pacemaker and getting my third in a year or so.

Just my own experience.

Take care everyone.

If anyone could answer this...

by donr - 2016-04-30 10:04:05

...question, they'd have more money than all the richest people in the world, combined!

The lead is the weakest physical link in the entire system & can suffer a sudden failure at almost any point in time after implanting. They take the worst beating of all, being in the blood flow path & being flailed about w/every beat of the heart. I read an article last week that stated that the particular type of repetitive motion they suffer - low frequency, irregular displacement, when coupled w/ their design - is more prone to making them suffer fatigue fracture. Designing a lead is more of an engineering challenge than any other part of the system.

Then throw in the way they are threaded from the PM case, between the top rib & the collar bone into the Subclavian vein, thence into the heart & you have the problem of the two bones crushing the lead & inducing failure.

I lost my first lead to brittle fracture at the 4 yr point. My other lead has lasted 13 yrs. Tracey has a lead or two that has lasted well into the 20's. I've read of leads lasting well into the 30's.

In short, there are too many variables to predict how long a lead will last inside a human being.

Ask your cardio - then report what he says. I'd love to hear his answer - if he even tries to give one.

Donr





Several years

by Mittonm - 2016-05-01 01:05:23

Everyone is different. When I was on the phone with Medtronic they advised me they are only to last 5-8 years. This is odd enough because my first icd when I was 15 lasted and was replaced at the age of 22. No lead change occurred(not to mention I had a recalled sprint Fidelis lead). One year later while at work I received 30 jolts. The lead was fractured and my electrophysiology Dr could not perform the operation to replace the lead. Luckily I was blessed enough to go to UCSD where they have one of the highest success rates of replacing the lead. I am 24 years old back in the gym, and am a college graduate as well.

crystal balls

by Tracey_E - 2016-05-03 04:05:58

I really don't think there's any rhyme or reason to it! Some last a few years, others last decades. I don't know if the defib lead has a shorter life than the pacing leads, never heard that it does, but average pacing lead life is 15 years. I only have a pacer, not defib, but I have one working lead from 1994 that's still in good shape. The other was replaced in 2010 so it lasted just over 15 years.

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Member Quotes

It is just over 10 years since a dual lead device was implanted for complete heart block. It has worked perfectly and I have traveled well near two million miles internationally since then.