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Sudden and Fatal Malfunction of a Durata Defibrillator Lead due to External Insulation Failure
Author(s) -
SHAH ANAND D.,
HIRSH DAVID S.,
LANGBERG JONATHAN J.
Publication year - 2016
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/pace.12738
Subject(s) - medicine , defibrillation , implantable cardioverter defibrillator , lead (geology) , sudden cardiac death , population , cardiology , medical emergency , environmental health , geomorphology , geology
Defibrillator lead malfunction can be a disastrous complication, leading to loss of protection from sudden cardiac death in a high‐risk patient population. Recognition of lead‐specific risk for failure can assist in development of focused screening or surveillance, as in the case of the Riata lead (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) or the Sprint Fidelis lead (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA). A case of defibrillation failure secondary to a Durata lead insulation failure is presented. A brief review of the literature and current St. Jude Medical implantable cardiac defibrillator lead design is presented. Identification of arcing is identified as a potential sign of catastrophic insulation failure.