Longevity of Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices.

Battery depletion is the most common reason for device reoperation, which is associated with significant patient morbidity and mortality. This article describes the history of pacing and defibrillation power supplies and the factors that determine the longevity of pacing and defibrillator generators with a special emphasis on factors that can be adjusted or controlled by the implanting and following physician. Optimization of longevity is attained through device selection; shock minimization; avoidance of prolonged radiofrequency telemetry; selection of higher impedance vectors; avoidance of long pulse duration when possible; and avoidance of unnecessary feature activation, such as continuous electrogram storage.