Ectopic positioning of pacemaker electrode

Arq Bras Cardiol. 2010 May;94(5):e59-61, e122-4. doi: 10.1590/s0066-782x2010000500023.
[Article in English, Portuguese]

Abstract

The present case reports on a patient presenting the cardiac form of Chagas disease, with left ventricular dysfunction and second-degree atrioventricular block Mobitz type II, associated with several syncope episodes. The patient underwent a double-chamber definitive artificial pacemaker implant. One year after the implant, the displacement of the atrial electrode was diagnosed and the patient was submitted to re-implantation of the atrial electrode. Two years after the first surgical procedure, the patient presented dyspnea on exertion. The physical evaluation included an echocardiogram, which detected the presence of a foreign body with metallic characteristics in the left cardiac chambers, consistent with that of an ectopic pacemaker electrode.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Atrioventricular Block / therapy
  • Chagas Cardiomyopathy / diagnostic imaging
  • Chagas Cardiomyopathy / therapy*
  • Electrodes, Implanted / adverse effects*
  • Foreign-Body Migration / diagnostic imaging*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pacemaker, Artificial / adverse effects*
  • Reoperation / adverse effects
  • Ultrasonography
  • Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / etiology