A proposed clinical workflow aims to mitigate the risk of lead-related superior vena cava syndrome, a complication responsible for roughly 30% of all SVC syndrome cases.
In this viewpoint, after an overview of the background of lead-related superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome, we propose a structured clinical workflow intended to reduce the risk of lead-related SVC syndrome. Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is a rare condition of stenosis of the SVC resulting in symptoms. In the majority of 60% of the patients, SVC syndrome is caused by a malignancy. However, in approximately 30% of all the patients with SVC syndrome, it is related to cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) leads and central venous catheters (CVC).
Daniëls et al. (2026) studied this question.