Abstract
From December 1994 to March 1997, 21 patients with atrioventricular block were implanted with Medtronic model 5032 leads. These patients were classified into two groups: 11.5cm leads of atrioventricle distance were used in S group (15 cases, 74.9±5.9 years) and 13.5 cm leads were used in L group (6 cases, 79.8±12.5 years). Our standard for choosing the leads is: 13.5 cm leads must be considered for patients with preoperative chest roentgenographs at inspiratory phase in supine position showing a heart size larger than 16 cm or for those having both a heart size larger than 15 cm and being more than 145 cm tall, whereas 11.5 cm leads are appropriate for other patients. P wave at implant was 3.23±1.92 mV in S group and 2.68±0.85 mV in L group. P wave was 1.93±1.42 mV in S group and 1.61±1.07 mV in L group 3 months postoperatively. Under these results, our standard is considered very reasonable for choosing the single lead in VDD system.
