A New Orthogonal Lead for P Synchronous Pacing

P synchronous pacing has long been identified as advantageous for patients with atrioventricular conduction defects and intact sinus node function. Prior endocavitary systems have been infrequently employed, because of unreliable P wave sensing from standard ring electrodes in the atrium or the requirement for a second atrial sensing lead. A single endocardial lead employing a unipolar ventricular stimulating electrode and an orthogonal P wave sensing design was developed and tested in 22 patients undergoing electrophysiologic study or pacemaker implantation. Thirteen centimeters from the stimulating tip of a standard permanent pacing lead, three or four electrodes with a surface area of one millimeter squared, equidistant from the tip, were placed circumferentially about the catheter. With the catheter tip normally placed in the right ventricular apex, atrial sensing electrodes were positioned in the mid-high lateral right atrium, adjacent to, but not affixed to, the right atrial wall. Bipolar orthogonal leads X and Y were obtained. In 22 patients, during sinus rhythm, atrial electrogram voltages in the X axis of 2.47 plus or minus 1.6 millivolts and 2.32 plus or minus 1.6 millivolts in the Y axis were recorded. QRS voltages of 0.078 millivolts and 0.073 millivolts, respectively, allowed dramatic ability to discriminate P from QRS complexes (P/QRS equals 32/1). There was no change in QRS or unipolar ventricular pacing. A single catheter designed for P synchronous pacing employing circumferentially placed atrial sensing electrodes has demonstrated unique atrial sensing voltages with excellent QRS signal rejection.