Premium
Prevalence of Asymptomatic Upper Extremity Venous Obstruction in 302 Patients Undergoing First Implantation of Cardioverter Defibrillator
Author(s) -
LINHART MARKUS,
SCHWAB JÖRG O.,
BELLMANN BARBARA,
SCHRICKEL JAN W.,
KREUZ JENS,
BALTA OSMAN,
NAEHLE CLAAS P.,
STRACH KATHARINA,
SCHNEIDER CHRISTIAN,
ESMAILZADEH BAHMAN,
FIMMERS ROLF,
NICKENIG GEORG,
LICKFETT LARS M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.2011.03035.x
Subject(s) - medicine , venography , cardiology , asymptomatic , implantable cardioverter defibrillator , ejection fraction , surgery , population , heart failure , thrombosis , environmental health
Background: Little is known about the prevalence of upper extremity vein obstruction or anomalies in patients before first implantation of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). It remains unclear in which patients contrast venography is warranted before implantation procedure.Methods: Results of clinical data and contrast venography of 302 consecutive patients scheduled for first ICD implantation were analyzed.Results: Prevalence of upper vein obstruction was 6.6% (20/302 patients) in a typical patient population undergoing first ICD implantation. Age, left ventricular ejection fraction, underlying heart disease, prior open‐heart surgery, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation were not predictors of obstruction. Patients with previous cardiac pacemaker implantation had a higher rate of obstruction, though this was not statistically significant (20% vs 15.7%, P = 0.54). Persistent left vena cava was found in 0.7%.Conclusion: There is no clinical parameter sufficient enough to predict upper extremity venous obstruction. Contrast venography may be considered in patients with previous pacemaker placement but should not be a routine diagnostic tool in unselected patients prior to first ICD‐implantation procedure. (PACE 2011; 684–689)