Improved Engineering Standards for Transvenous Cardiac Leads: A Progress Report from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation Cardiac Rhythm Management Device Committee Leads Working Group

Transvenous leads for cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are intended to last for the remainder of a patient ’s life. Yet they are recognized as the most vulnerable system component, both for pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). Engineering standards were first established for transvenous leads in 1997 and have been updated periodically since then.1 However, some leads that met this standard were recalled due to unacceptable failure rates. Other leads, which also were qualified in accordance with this standard, failed to provide acceptable performance.

Source: Heart Rhythm - December 28, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Daniel J. Cooke, Adam Himes, Charles D. Swerdlow Source Type: research