Lead to the atrium come adrift

Hi folks. Thanks for reading this. My name is Matt - I'm a professor in engineering at Stanford University. My dad is 78 years old and lives in South Africa. One month ago, he received a pacemaker called Zephyr, Model 5820 IS1, made by St Jude. He's been experiencing ongoing irregularities in his heart beat and it now seems that one lead to the atrium has come adrift. Apparently, this was more likely since he had bypass surgery ten years ago so his atrium is smaller than usual and has scar tissue. Does anyone know of doctors who are specialists in dealing with this situation, or specialists in placing leads in hearts that have been through bypass surgery. Alternatively, has anyone been through this and have ideas on what should be done? Many many thanks.

4 Comments

Not sure...

by Swedeheart - 2008-03-26 11:03:55

Hello Matt,

I am a "newbie" to this pacemaker world, I have only had mine one month. But I have tried to read everything I can about them... I am sorry to hear your Dad has a lead that has migrated. From what I have read he needs to have someone who is a specialist. A EP doctor who deals with leads or possible lead replacement/repair. Is your Dad in South Africa? If so, I wouldn't know what specifically to suggest. You might contact anyone you might know at the Stanford Medical Facility and see what they suggest. I also know that if you access the Cleveland Clinic (www.clevelandclinic.org) they have specialists listed ... you might contact them and see if there is someone they would recommend in SA. I am not sure how much red tape would be involved to get information, but I have usually found if creative one can navigate through most red tape.

The doctor that implanted his pacemaker should also be able to assist you... if he isn't a specialist in this field he might recommend someone. Most heart clinics have a EP doctor and some have doctors that specialize in working with leads (like replacement,etc.)

I also understand it takes a while for everything to settle down, I know for me it is a very slow go... I keep hoping to wake up some day and actually feel better. I also think it is necessary for us to have advocates, and your Dad is lucky to have you on his side! Sometimes it takes a lot of persistence to get the help you need. Keep at it!

Hopefully someone with more knowledge and experience will also respond to your post. Good luck. I wish your Dad well.

EPs In South Africa.

by Stepford_Wife - 2008-03-27 01:03:54

Hi Matt.

I don't know if this will help, there is a web site, and phone numbers included with the information. You might be able to find someone who'll know where to direct you.
Good luck,

~ Dominique ~

Hello and Welcome!

If this is your first visit to this site I hope you find it very useful. It is the only ARRHYTHMIA site for the general public in South Africa and we want it to be perfect. So if you have any comments and suggestions, please let us know. paceafrica@gmail.com

This year PACE is concentrating on establishing support groups around the country. These groups will provide information, give opportunities to share experiences and address the needs of affected families.

SATURDAY 1 MARCH 2008 - DR. PRO OBEL - Electrophysiologist
(Heart Rhythm Specialist!)
MILPARK HOSPITAL - Lusan Luscombe
JOHANNESBURG Parent and Co-founder of PACE
9 AM
RSVP 011 480 5730 Gabby

THURSDAY 3 APRIL 2008 - PROF. A OKREGLICKI
Electrophysiologist
WESTVILLE HOSPITAL - Lusan Luscombe
DURBAN
6 PM
RSVP 084 205 9737 Juliet


Best wishes and we hope to see you at one of the meetings!

Lusan


Suggestion

by janetinak - 2008-03-27 03:03:20

Hi, Sorry to hear your Dad having a problem. As above recommendations are great I'd like to suggest also that maybe the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center may also have some info. or may be able to see your Dad. I understand that they were the ones who developed the ablation procedure (hope that is correct) & I went down to get a second opinion with my cardio's blessing before I decided on ablation & PM for atrial fib.It was a positive experience & to think I graduated from there 30 years before with my MS. Hah.

Good luck to you & your Dad,

Janet in Anchorage

news to me

by tedlutz3 - 2008-03-28 06:03:37

i never read about lead movement before i went for a checkup 2 weeks after my icd implant in feb. the st. jude's techs kept talking among themselves and finally called in EP doc. he said a lead had moved too far and that i wasn't receiving the benefit of "pacing." i went back for a "redo" this month and go back for another checkup next week. my EP surgeon said the lead migration is one possible problem. but he claims this problem is not a reason to stop implanting the devices. (of course, there's the money issue. i was told that i have the cadillac of the icds and the implant cost was $100,000).
have your dad check with a major hospital where the implants are done every day. based on what i've been told, the more experiencesd EPs have seen and fixed plenty of lead shifts.

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