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Leads lifespan?
- by Prudential
- 2014-04-28 07:04:55
- Batteries & Leads
- 2338 views
- 1 comments
My mother is going to have Pacemaker replacement after almost 10 years⦠but not necessary the Leads, it will be decided during the procedure..
She has St Jude, Pacer #5386, Lead 1688T/52 and Lead 1646T/58.
She is in excellent condition.
1. What is the Lifespan of the Leads?
Is it safe to continue using them for more than 10 years?
My concern is St Jude has had Recalls and problems with Lead insulation and malfunction..
1 Comments
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leads
by Tracey_E - 2014-04-28 08:04:56
Leads last on average 15 years, but they can go for 30 years or more. If there was a problem with one of her leads, they would have picked it up in her interrogation reports and she definitely would have been notified if there was a recall. Testing it during surgery when the battery replaced is just a formality. If there is no indication there is a problem from the reports, they don't expect to find anything when they change it out.
If the lead is working don't mess with it. There is a limit to how many leads will fit in the vein, and extracting them to start with new leads is a more complicated procedure. Don't do that unless or until you have to. I had one lead replaced at 15 years, my other original lead is 20 years old and still going strong. We have members with leads 30 years or more and they still work fine.
As far as I know, the recalled leads from St Judes are ICD not pacemaker. Don't worry about recalls, it's very very rare, esp on a lead that's been working well for years.