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(Circulation. 2007;115:2461-2463.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Editorial

Transvenous Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Leads

The Weakest Link

William H. Maisel, MD, MPH

From the Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

Correspondence to William H. Maisel, MD, MPH, Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 185 Pilgrim Rd, Baker 4, Boston, MA 02465. E-mail wmaisel@bidmc.harvard.edu

Key Words: Editorials • death, sudden • defects • defibrillation • tachyarrhythmias

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) lead development was an important advance in arrhythmia management. Their evolution has been critical to the wide acceptance of ICDs for the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias and the prevention of sudden cardiac death. Indeed, it is unlikely that the 20-fold increase in annual ICD implants observed during the past 15 years would have occurred without the advent of these leads.¹ Compared with their epicardial predecessors, transvenous ICD leads are easier to implant, are less costly, and result in substantially decreased morbidity and mortality.²

Article p 2474

Modern ICD leads consist primarily of electrodes, conductors, and insulation, with a fixation mechanism and a connector to attach the lead to the myocardium and the ICD generator, respectively. ICD leads must withstand hundreds of millions of repetitive cardiac cycles, survive in the hostile environment of the human body, and allow high-voltage energy delivery for defibrillation at a moment’s notice. In total, the demands placed on ICD leads are unparalleled among implantable medical devices. Successful resuscitation of a potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmia by an ICD system depends on successful arrhythmia detection and timely delivery of therapy. Both the ICD generator and the lead are critical components of this system. Although ICD generator malfunctions have recently garnered much attention, failure of an ICD lead also can result in significant clinical events.^1,3,4 Oversensing can cause inhibition of pacing or inappropriate shocks, and failure to capture, premature battery depletion, or failure to defibrillate also can occur.⁵

Unlike ICD generators, which can be explanted . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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