@ivysmom
I had my original pacemaker/ICD put in in 2006. Within 3 months the wire leading to my LV to pace it came out playing tennis. The EP told me when he was trying to put that lead into LV vein could not put it where he wanted and it did not seed.

A surgeon did surgery to remove the lead (not attached to heart anymore) and put in a new lead directly on heart.

Then this lead after a decade started having high impediment and needed to be replaced. My EP did surgery for my new ICD/Pacemaker and put a new lead into my LV vein and told me the new wires made it possible to get into veins where in past they were too large to do so.

The lead directly on my heart that was surgically put there was left in my heart but the wire disconnected from my ICD/Pacemaker. So, I have 2 leads to AVs and 1 lead to LV and one lead just sitting there.

The old lead you have should become encapsulated. Talk to your EP about this. Taking a lead out that has been there a long time can be difficult. It is why taking out the original lead to my LV was easy as it was in there only a couple of months. The other lead that went directly on my heart came loose but was left and I was told body would encapsulate it.

Hope that help with me providing my experience.