Electronic Devices

Hi everyone,
I have a question about some of the "gadgets" out there. Can a person with a pacemaker use an IPod? An IPad? Be near jukebox speakers? I know we are supposed to keep our cell phones at least 5 inches from the pacemaker, but wonder about these items I mentioned. I have looked at web sites and it seems like everybody has a different opinion. For example, I was told NOT to go through the new body scanners at the airport but went through one because the security person said it was OK. My pm beat three very rapid beats but was OK after that. Just wondering about your personal experiences. Thanks.

3 Comments

all ok!

by Tracey_E - 2011-03-02 10:03:55

If you feel funny around something keep it 5" from your device but newer pm's are well shielded and most of us don't have any problems. I clip my ipod shuffle on my top right over my pm when I work out. I hold my phone on the left side with my shoulder which puts it way under the 5" mark... I don't take precautions!

The new scanners at the airport are safe. It's the old metal detectors that may not be tho we have a lot of members who walk through them anyway. I do not, I ask for a pat down if a new scanner isn't available. Most airports in the last year in the US have gotten the new scanners. Definitely stay away from the wands, they're a more concentrated version of the metal detector. It's just an xray, nothing magnetic about it to interfere with the pm.

Anything that's going to interfere is not going to damage the pm, just temporarily put it in test mode like when we get it checked. It may feel funny but as soon as we get away from the source of the problem, it will work normally again. The only things I've ever felt (been paced since 1993) are huge speakers at a concert and every once in a while the security things at the doors of stores. I just walk through quickly, don't linger.

Don't live your life in fear! You're not going to hurt the pm or yourself, the worst that can happen is you feel funky for a few seconds until you get away from it. I forget mine is there most of the time.

The "magic" 5 inches

by ElectricFrank - 2011-03-03 01:03:14

There is nothing magic about the 5" distance. Look at it this way: The amount of magnetic or electrical field experienced by the pacemaker depends on a multitude of things. There is no way the pacemaker manufacturer can predict what each device will do. So they test the pacemaker under a range of conditions and use the worst case to generate the guidelines. These are submitted to the FDA and become a requirement.

In the real world there is very few situations where the pacer is affected. We all walk near power wiring in building walls, drive by 50,000 watt radio towers, etc. One of the least mentioned exposures is standing on the floor of a second story building with a bank of high powered light fixtures in the ceiling of the floor below. Police regularly use their handheld radios while standing very close to a handcuffed suspect. As I mentioned in another post I sit in my hot tub just above the 240V 25A heater which cycles on and off. I have never noticed a problem.

This isn't to say there can't be a problem. Electric welders produce currents in the 100's of amps in their cables which is required to weld.

As Tracey mentioned interfering radiation is not going to damage the pacemaker. Just move away from the source. The only precaution I take is to avoid situations where becoming light headed could be hazardous until I check it out.

So far in the 6+ years of having a pacemaker I have never experienced an interference problem, and I routinely am around all sorts of sources.

frank

Pat down detector

by ElectricFrank - 2011-03-05 10:03:18

If I was doing much air travel I would put my electronic skill to work and design a pat down detector. It would be wired to some red LED lights on top of my bald head that would start blinking in response to a pat down. Then all I would need is some kind of story that the lights are a check pacemaker warning like the check engine lights on a car.

Hmmmmm

frank

You know you're wired when...

Bad hair days can be blamed on your device shorting out.

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