Cerebral Dural Venous Sinus Thrombosis Following Cardiac Pacemaker Implantation

The development of reliable implantable artificial pacemakers has revolutionized the management of a variety of cardiac conduction disturbances and arrhythmias. The advent of the transvenous route of electrode insertion has allowed the use of these devices in patients who could not tolerate the operative morbidity of transthoracic implantation. However, the transvenous method of implantation is not without significant hazard and many major risks are well recognized. It is the purpose of this communication to report the occurrence of cerebral dural venous sinus thrombosis involving the right laternal and sagittal sinuses in association with implantation of a transvenous pacemaker via the right jugular vein. The complication has not been previously recognized.

Patient Summary  A 54-year-old trucking company clerk was first told of his slow heart rate in 1957. In September 1959 he experienced an episode of substernal pain following which an electrocardiogram was said to have demonstrated atrioventricular dissociation. In