Case report: An unusual case of phrenic nerve stimulation in a patient with single chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillator

• Published in: Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine Vol. 10; p. 1088697
• Main Authors: De Innocentiis, Carlo, Astore, Pasquale, Buonpane, Angela, Santamaria, Antonia Pia, Patragnoni, Francesco, Santamaria, Matteo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 23-02-2023
• Subjects: cardiac implantable electronic devices; cardiac resynchronization therapy; Cardiovascular Medicine; case report; implantable cardioverter defibrillator; phrenic nerve stimulation; case report; cardiac implantable electronic devices; implantable cardioverter defibrillator; cardiac resynchronization therapy; phrenic nerve stimulation
• ISSN: 2297-055X; 2297-055X
• DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2023.1088697

Phrenic nerve stimulation is a well-recognized complication related to cardiac implantable electronic devices, in particular with left ventricular coronary sinus pacing leads for cardiac resynchronization therapy.
We report an unusual case of symptomatic phrenic nerve stimulation due to inadvertent placement of a right ventricular defibrillation lead in coronary sinus posterior branch in a patient with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction with a recently implanted single-chamber cardioverter defibrillator.
Phrenic nerve stimulation is a relatively common complication of left ventricular pacing. Inadvertent placement of a right ventricular lead in a coronary sinus branch is a rare but possible cause of phrenic nerve stimulation. Careful evaluation of intraprocedural fluoroscopic and electrocardiographic appearance of pacing and defibrillation leads during implantation may prevent inadvertent placement of a right ventricular lead in the coronary sinus.