A medical electrical lead having a conductor assembly covered by an insulating layer, and a shield covering positioned adjacent or proximate to at least a portion of the insulating layer in order to shield the conductor assembly from one or more electromagnetic fields. The shield covering is formed of a material that is electrically conductive, where the material is in a wrapped or woven form. The material is selected so as to have an effective combination of small size and high conductive surface area, e.g., as opposed to metal wire or coatings thinner than metal wire. As such, the shield covering exhibits sufficient conductivity in the presence of one or more high frequency electromagnetic fields so that interference to the operation of the conductor assembly is minimized. The material can have a coating formed of one or more metals. The material can include carbon. In turn, the carbon can be formed of one or more of carbon fiber, carbon nanofiber, and single or multi-walled carbon nanotube.
