Ventricular Lead - Impedence Increasing

During my recent pacemaker checkup, the technician observed that the impedence of the ventricular lead has increased from 1220 ohms (11-23-2014) to 1550 ohms (11-18-2015). The impedence was 730 ohms in 2013. The technician thinks that the increasing impedence means that lead may be going bad and wants to monitor it every 3 mos.

My question: 1) Is this something I need to be concerned about? 2) How common is this problem? 3) Is this a problem with the particular brand of pacemaker (Boston Scientific Insignia 1 Ultra 2 leads)?

I got the pacemaker in 2008. The remaining battey life is 2.5 years.

Thanks

4 Comments

Leads

by CC88 - 2015-11-24 10:11:05

Are leads physically removed that need to be replaced? Or do they leave them in, and add new ones?

Both

by heckboy - 2015-11-24 10:11:24

Veins are large enough to accommodate several leads, so it depends on the individual and the situation. Since I was relatively young at the time and one of my leads had become partially dislodged with my 1st PM, I opted for lead removal and replacement when it was time for my second. For my 3rd PM, only the generator was replaced and the leads were reused

leads

by Tracey_E - 2015-11-24 10:11:27

Leads generally last longer than batteries, but they don't last forever. Average life is 15 years but that's just an average- some go sooner, some last longer. I've never heard of one brand not lasting as long as others, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. I got my first ones in 1994. One was replaced in 2010, the other is still going strong.

Increased impedance means it's taking more juice to get the signal through, which can come from scar tissue that has built up, the lead is impeded or insulation is ruptured or who knows what. I had one do the same thing, insulation rupture. We monitored it for over 5 years (and through one battery change) before doing anything about it. I had space in the vein, so when it got bad enough that they had to crank the signal up so high that it was killing the battery very quickly, they simply capped off the old one and added a new one. Odds are pretty good you can watch it for now then make a decision what to do when it's time to change the battery. It's still working, this is simply the very first early sign that something is changing. Something to monitor, perfectly normal and nothing lose sleep over.

CC88

by Tracey_E - 2015-11-25 02:11:03

It varies. If there is no room in the vein, they have to either extract what's there or move the whole system to the other side. If there is room for another lead in the vein, the options are add to what's there or remove and start fresh. I chose to add to what's there because I 'm young enough I expect to outlive these leads. I figured, and my surgeon agreed, that if we could put off extraction, maybe when I do have to have it done, the next set of leads will get me through the rest of my life. I don't want to extract twice. I'm on my 4th device, getting #5 in a few months, have one working original lead, one new one added with my last device change, one capped off.

You know you're wired when...

A thirty-day guarantee is not good enough.

Member Quotes

Hang in there; it does get better every day!