2026 HRS/AHA/APHRS/EHRA/IDSA/LAHRS/PACES/STS expert consensus statement update on cardiovascular implantable electronic device lead management and extraction.
Guideline
Overview
abstract
AIM: The "2026 HRS Expert Consensus Statement Update on Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Lead Management and Extraction" provides updated recommendations to guide clinicians in the management of cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) leads. BACKGROUND: Since the publication of the "2017 HRS Expert Consensus Statement on Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Lead Management and Extraction," the field has evolved quickly. New evidence on CIED lead management and the blooming development of new CIED technologies, including leadless pacing and implantable cardioverter defibrillator leads implanted outside the vascular system and new lumenless pacing leads and lead extraction tools, have contributed to the field's rapid evolution. METHODS AND RESULTS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in accordance with the Institute of Medicine standards. The writing committee reviewed evidence gathered through electronic literature searches encompassing clinical trials, original studies, and meta-analyses conducted on human subjects published in English from MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library up to December 2024. The comprehensive literature review supports each evidence-based recommendation and is compiled in the evidence tables. A predefined threshold of > 70% approval for each recommendation was required, with a quorum of two-thirds of the writing committee. The final mean consensus of 108 recommendations was 93.61%. DISCUSSION: The recommendations from the "2017 Expert Consensus Statement on Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Lead Management and Extraction" have been updated with new evidence to guide clinicians. The new recommendations address the latest CIED technologies with the advantages over transvenous leads, new evidence supporting diagnosis, treatment, and prevention for CIED infection, appropriate lead management in transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement for tricuspid regurgitation, and standardization of transvenous lead extraction approach, protocol, and facilities to improve the outcomes of CIED lead management and extraction.
