leads going bad

I found out yesteray that one of my leads has gone bad. I have a medtronic PM due to bradycardia. As it was explained to me, the leads have 3 parts, an outer and inner wire and insulation on the outside. The PM detected that the outer wire was not operating and switched automatically to the interior wire. I never noticed. The hypothesis is that the insulation "went bad" This leads only paces .2% of the time, my upper lead paces 100% of the time. My doctor sent me for a chest X-ray and wants to see me back in 30 days. 

Should "bad leads" be removed or stay in place if they're not in use and causing any harm? Why recheck me in 30 days? is it likely that it will come back to work?

3 Comments

Leads

by doublehorn48 - 2016-12-17 15:14:37

My lead started doing what yours is doing except mine had been in about 10 years.  The cardiologist just watched it and since it was still working left it alone.  

2 years later my other lead is starting to fail,  and like yours, is my most important led.  Next month I go in for lead replacement.  I have 4 leads in the same artery.

It could be years before you need to replace this lead.  But your cardiologist is the one to talk to.  

leads

by Tracey_E - 2016-12-18 00:58:02

They will try to program around it. They want to see you back to make sure it's working with the new settings and that it's stable. Ask about battery life. When they reprogram it sometimes they have to crank up the juice to get the signal through which means the battery life will be shorter. Not a big deal, but it's nice to know these things. Turning it off is also a possibility as a short term fix until the battery needs replaced, but it provides information even when it doesn't pace so they may not want to do that. If they can get it stable, then they can put off fixing it until the battery needs replaced, then you'd only be looking at one surgery. 

They can extract or cap off the old one and add a new one. It's possible yours would come out pretty easily since they aren't that old so that might be a better choice than adding a new one. I would ask about that before deciding to keep it until the battery goes. I had one go bad after 10 years, kept it for another 5 before adding a new one. Because mine have been in so long, extraction is more complicated so I chose not to do it until I have no choice. 

bad leads

by wallygatorsc - 2017-01-09 22:42:57

I have a St Jude icd and had a lead go bad (see Rialta leads recall) went bad. I knew because of my icd sent a warning (vibrating in my chest weirdest feeling i've ever felt) Long story short you should not only have  a new lead put but should remove the old one. If the "insulation" wears off the lead it exposes fine wire which can stick into your body.  It's done by inserting a laser machine and the old lead is cut out and the new lead is put into the channel. I can't speak for where you are but this was done at MUSC in Charleston,SC.  It's a little more complicated that the original insertion surgery ..but well worth the hassle. Peace of mind in this situation is tantamount to me. Depending on how old your device is ..it may also be a good time to replace it or it's battery since they go in through the same incision

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