Devices and techniques for anchoring an implantable medical device

A method comprising:

• navigating a distal portion of an implantable medical lead from an access point of a patient to an implantation site within a substernal space of the patient, wherein navigating the distal portion of the implantable medical lead comprises orienting the distal portion of the implantable medical lead within the substernal space relative to a heart of the patient;
• and
• fixedly-securing the distal portion of the implantable medical lead oriented relative to the heart at the implantation site using a first anchoring mechanism and a second anchoring mechanism, the first and second anchoring mechanisms along a length of the implantable medical lead from the access point to a distal end of the implantable medical lead, and the second anchoring mechanism distal of the first anchoring mechanism,
• wherein fixedly-securing using the first anchoring mechanism comprises:
• conforming the first anchoring mechanism to a curvature of a transition from a subcutaneous space into the substernal space through the access point;
• and
• fixedly-securing the implantable medical lead at the access point with the first anchoring mechanism, and
• wherein fixedly-securing using the second anchoring mechanism comprises deploying the second anchoring mechanism from a first retracted configuration to a second expanded configuration in the substernal space such that the deployed second anchoring mechanism is in the second expanded configuration for coupling with the subcutaneous tissue when positioned in the substernal space.