Close Proximity of Left Anterior Descending Artery to the Right Ventricular Lead Apparently Implanted into the Mid-septum

• Main Author: Pavel Osmancik, MD, PhD, FESC, Petr Stros, MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2014-03-01
• Series: Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal
• Subjects: pacing; septal; fluoroscopy; implantation
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0972629216307343

Right ventricular (RV) mid-septal pacing should have fewer negative effects on left ventricular function compared to apical pacing. However, targeting the mid-septum may be technically challenging since it is usually done with two-dimensional fluoroscopy. The rotation of the heart and various shapes of the RV make it difficult to assess, whether the lead is really anchored in the septum. Many leads, apparently anchored in the septum, are in fact anchored in the anterior wall or anteroseptal groove, and some can get anchored in close proximity to the left anterior descending artery (LAD). We report three cases from our series of 51 patients, in whom the RV lead thought to be implanted in the mid-septum was in fact anchored in close proximity of LAD when assessed using computed tomography.