Longitudinal follow-up of Riata leads reveals high annual incidence of new conductor externalization and electrical failure.

Background and purpose RiataTM defibrillation leads are susceptible to conductor externalization. The point prevalence of insulation defect in RiataTM leads is up to 33 %, but prospective data concerning incidence of new lead abnormalities are lacking. The purpose of our study was to determine the annual incidence of new conductor externalizations and electrical lead failure.