Use of two-dimensional echocardiography in detection of an aberrantly placed transvenous pacing catheter

The clinical usefulness and general ease of insertion of transvenous pacing catheters have made this procedure popular. It is sometimes difficult, yet important, to precisely locate the electrode tip. This report describes a patient in whom two-dimensional echocardiography was used to locate an aberrantly placed pacing catheter, whose position could not be established by conventional studies. Echocardiographic confirmation of the course taken by this pacing catheter has not been previously reported. The catheter was seen to pass from the aorta, through the aortic valve, into the body of the left ventricle.