Successful upgrade to cardiac resynchronization therapy for cardiac implantation-associated left subclavian vein occlusion: A case report

BACKGROUND: Subclavian vein stenosis or occlusion may be caused by a transvenous pacemaker, which makes the reimplantation of a new pacemaker lead difficult. Transvenous pacemaker lead implantation-related subclavian vein occlusion may present difficulty with regard to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) upgrade. CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of a 46-year-old man who was admitted with total subclavian vein occlusion caused by a permanent pacemaker that had been implanted 2 years previously. We successfully treated this patient with an upgrade to a CRT pacemaker by utilizing transferable interventional coronary and radiological techniques. The patient recovered uneventfully during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: CRT upgrade is still a viable technique for the treatment of subclavian vein obstruction caused by previous pacemaker implantation.