Transvenous defibrilating and pacing lead

摘要

A transvenous lead (10) for defibrillation and pacing of the heart includes a single defibrillating coil electrode (12) adapted to be introduced into the right ventricle of the heart. The coil (12) constitutes a relatively long flexible large surface area electrode conformable to the shape of the ventricle and thereby readily disposed along the entire length of the ventricle for use in delivering defibrillating shocks. A pacing electrode (14) at the tip of the lead (10) is used both in stimulating the heart with pacing pulses and in sensing the response of the heart to the pulses and to shocks. The coil electrode is multi-filar, composed of a plurality of wires tightly wound side by side, each wire composed of copper-zirconium alloy wrapped with tantalum, and is flared from the diameter at its ends to a larger diameter intermediate its ends to increase the exposed surface area thereof in the ventricle.