An Update on Pacemakers and Defibrillators

The aging population coupled with comorbidities lead to the growing number of pacemaker and implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implants each year. Newer studies give way to revisions in device guidelines, whereas innovations in electrophysiology provide promising therapies, such as leadless cardiac pacemakers, subcutaneous ICDs, and magnetic resonance imaging–conditional devices. This article summarizes current device guidelines, reviews novel therapies, and discusses practical applications for nurse practitioners. It is paramount for nurse practitioners in all specialties to remain up to date with the latest trends in device therapy given the prevalence of patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices.     

Permanent pacemaker implantation after valve and arrhythmia surgery in patients with preoperative atrial fibrillation

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Increased Incidence of Noise in the Tendril Pacemaker Lead Detected via Remote Monitoring

BackgroundPrior studies suggest increased rates of noise on the Tendril (St Jude Medical/Abbott, St. Paul, MN, USA) pacemaker lead. We aim to assess the incidence of lead noise in the Tendril and 5076 (Medtronic PLC, Minneapolis, MN, USA) pacemaker leads in our cohort and in the process assess the utility of remote monitoring for identifying lead malfunction.MethodsDeidentified, multi-centre, prospectively collected observational cohort data was obtained to assess the incidence of noise on the Tendril and 5076 pacemaker leads.Results148 Tendril and 737 CapSureFix Novus 5076 (Medtronic, MN, USA) pacemaker leads were remotely monitored. Incidence of noise on the Tendril was 8% and 0.27% on the CapSureFix Novus.ConclusionRates of noise in the Tendril lead are higher than a market competitor. Remote monitoring is useful in detecting this concerning anomaly.