Natural history of the Sprint Fidelis lead: survival analysis from a large single-center study.

The purposes of our study were to: (1) determine lead failure rate in a large single-center cohort of Sprint Fidelis 6949 (Fidelis) leads, (2) define the risk of lead failure over time, (3) assess the impact of the Lead Integrity Alert (LIA) on lead failure presentation, and (4) identify independent predictors of Fidelis lead failure. All patients who underwent implantation of a Fidelis lead between September 2004 and July 2007 were included. Demographic, clinical, and device characteristics at the time of implant and prior to failure were collected and analyzed. A total of 971 Fidelis leads (706 men, 265 women, mean age 68.4 ± 12.8 years) were implanted. Over a mean follow-up of 46.3 month…