Abandoned Leads Can Cause Major Problems Later On

If your pacemaker or other cardiac device needs to be replaced, be sure the extra wires are removed, too.

Published: July 23, 2018

Various types of CIEDs are used to restore a normal rhythm when a heart starts beating too slowly, too fast or irregularly. They range in sophistication from a simple, single-chamber pacemaker with one lead to a biventricular pacemaker with defibrillator, which has three leads. Regardless of the number of leads, all CIEDs have a battery that sends electrical impulses down the wires into the heart muscle to make itcontract.