Voltage on the leads

I had an AV block resulting in a low hearth rythme of 37 during sleep. I now have my two lead Medtronic pm for one month and everything seems fine. Today during my control visit however the doctor told me that the upper lead uses 1 volt and the lower lead is using 3 volts and that they prefer to move this lead into another place in my heart to get to a lower voltage. My question, is this really necessary? Is the lead not well attached or is it not my heart that needs the 3 volt in order to function? Anybody with same experience?

4 Comments

No personal experience but

by AgentX86 - 2019-03-23 16:41:20

The higher voltage means the lead isn't working as well as it should be. It could be in a bad place in your heart ("dead" spot") or not attached properly. In either case, it's not right and will, at the minimum, run down the battery faster than anticipated.

I would move it

by Tracey_E - 2019-03-24 08:57:58

It's super easy to move now. If it needs moved later, scar tissue will have grown which makes it more complicated. It's best for the heart to use as little juice as possible. Also, if it's higher you will blow through your battery in no time. I would move it now and get it over with. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++I'm gonna be the ...

by donr - 2019-03-25 20:25:17


...Devil'sadvocate here & ask WHY MOVE IT NOW?

Her'a why - didn't they check it for sensitivity while you were on the table & off wandering about La-La-Land?   Can't they tell you any more precisely WHY it is running at too high a voltage?  What about sensitivity tests now?  Why not crank back the voltage & see what happens.  Do you REALLY want to go through another procedure w/ some guy mucking around in your one & only heart?  There is always risk to surgical procedures - a heck of a lot more risk than cranking the sensitivity down & seeing what happens.  Maybe they've done all this - tell me more, tell me more, tell me more.

Usually they set the voltage a bit higher than necessary to ensure pacing immediately after the procedure then reduce it after verifying over a month or so that all works OK.   IIRC, it's 2-2.5 volts on the V lead, because it takes roughly 1.5 volts to get the ventricles to contract.  What did they do for you?

 

Donr

Voltage on the leads

by Guyput - 2019-04-01 18:13:38

Thanks for your replies. Here is some more info.

During the pacemaker surgery for AV block they measured following,

RV lead  769 Ohms, Sensing 9,5 mv , Threshold 1 volt

The day after surgery,

RV lead, 475 Ohms, Sensing 16 mv, Threshold 2 volt at 0.5 ms

One month later, the Treshold was 3 volt and they propose to move the lead to find more sensitive tissue.

Is 3 volt rely a problem for battery life. I am not very keen for lead movement or replacement.

On YouTube "Common Pacemaker problems and troubleshooting" from Medmastery, they propose as solution to change the direction of the electric current flow between the lead electrode and the pacemaker, also called Changing Pacing Vector. In this case no lead surgery  is required..

Anybody has any thoughts?

Guy

You know you're wired when...

You can finally prove that you have a heart.

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