Laptop, Tablet, Cell phone...

totally unnecessary

by Tracey_E - 2015-10-05 01:10:13

You can't avoid these devices even if you wanted to. It's a digital world and wifi and cell phones are everywhere.

I've been paced every beat since 1994. I got my first laptop when most people never heard of them. We had a wireless router in the house before anyone heard of those, also. I read in bed with my tablet in its magnetic case propped on my chest. I hold my cell phone on the side of my pacer. I run with my ipod clipped right over my pacer. My husband is a ham radio enthusiast so we have that equipment in the house. You can't hurt it.

Absolute worst case, we get near a magnet too strong and it pulls a switch closed and puts it in test mode. They do this every time they interrogate the pacer so you already know what this feels like. As soon as the magnet is removed, the switch opens and it goes back to full function with no harm done. Rule of thumb is stay away from anything questionable, but there is likely nothing questionable in your house. Live your life, don't stress over this

A lot of leeway

by Theknotguy - 2015-10-05 07:10:52

Most of the warnings are just that, warnings. One member put a link to a web page about store security devices. The official warning on the site was that it MIGHT cause a problem based upon one newspaper article saying a person had a problem and another person reporting a problem. No scientific tests were done, no follow-up to see if anything really happened. It's just easier to slap a warning on the device and go on. That leaves the people with pacemaker devices trying to find out which is a real warning and which is there to prevent a lawsuit.

I volunteer in a wood shop. I run all the electrical equipment in the shop with no problems. That includes the 220 volt table saw. I've also been at the main circuit breaker box and have reset the breakers, no problem.

We also have people on the forum who have done MIG, TIG, and 60 amp arc welding. No problems. Another person is working in a power plant around 1400 volts and above. No problems. Most of these people are in industrial settings and around voltages higher than what you would ever run into in a home situation.

Cell phones don't have enough power to affect the PM. Cell phone towers are the wrong frequency to bother a PM. TV towers and other broadcasting towers are the wrong frequency to bother a PM. You would have to get inside the safety fences to get close enough to the equipment where it could bother a PM. That's why they have the safety fences - to keep out the people who don't know what they are doing. .

Airport security hasn't bothered my PM. Other walk through security devices haven't bothered my PM. And I had a guy use a wand on me without any problems. So you shouldn't have to worry about that.

We get an occasional report that someone was bothered by something. But we usually can't get a follow-up to see if that was really the problem. One person reported he was bothered by airport security but then dropped off the forum. Was it airport security or was it something else? Don't know. But I'm not worried about airport security.

Medtronics, my PM, has a paper out saying you need to keep their devices at least 6 inches away from a running electrical motor. In most cases, you would almost have to be hugging the motor while it was running in order to see if it would bother your PM. I forgot I had my PM, was running a heavy drill in the wood shop, ended up having my PM laying on the running drill. No problems. And that wasn't a quick one time oops-I-forgot, I ended up drilling about a hundred holes before I remembered I had my PM in the wrong place. No problems.

I've actually had my laptop lying on my chest while I've been working on it. No problems with my PM.

Was helping my son fix an electrical circuit at his home. He said the power was off - it wasn't. Grabbed a live 110 volt line. No problems with the PM but I did get sore fingers.

So there is a lot of leeway as far as electrical interference, EMF fields, RF fields and the like. You really shouldn't have to worry about them.

Hope everything else goes well for you.

No Worries

by Artist - 2015-10-05 11:10:11

My surgeon could barely hide his amusement when I told him that I kept forgetting to stay away from my microwave oven. That is old out of date guidance and is not a concern. Ordinary household appliances should be safe including laptops. My understanding is that very powerful magnetic forces can affect the PM programming, not the battery. That's why hospitals have warning signs in areas where they are operating MRI equipment. It supposedly is best to use your cell phone on your right side (if the PM is on the left). I suspect that even that advice is out dated.

microwaves

by Tracey_E - 2015-10-06 08:10:31

Artist, anyone with a pacer old enough to be affected by a microwave has MUCH bigger problems than the microwave danger, like a battery that's likely been dead for 20 years ;) I toured our brand new water treatment plant last year and was amused that they had a pacer warning sign in the kitchen, but did not have one in the generator room, where I probably shouldn't have gone (I did, of course, lol)

Try Monitoring

by monkeyman - 2016-04-14 02:04:10

Your PM will detect a surge if there is any interference. If you have a concern about a certain device, your hand-held monitor will send a signal to your cardiologist. He can tell you if the device in question interferes by looking at the readings sent to his office. Just remember when you used the device, time and date, and he'll let you know if it interferes or not.

Laptop, Tablet, Cell phone, i-watch? ERPM is the answer. ERPM the Android App for pacemaker and ICD recipients.

by RDL79 - 2017-02-09 05:08:04

Dear all, I want you to know that on Googleplay store there is an Android App named ERPM. 

The acronym stands for “Environmental risks for Pacemaker and ICD” and it is an application for pacemaker and ICD recipients. This application has a list of objects that you can encounter, in the home - or outside - environment, or some diagnostic and therapeutic procedures usually present in healthcare environments. All of these are potentially able to generate an electromagnetic field that can affect the proper function of your pacemaker or ICD. For each area (at home or outside) you will find environments (like kitchen or bank) in which you will see numerous items listed; similarly in the healthcare area. Not all listed items are potentially risky and this will be indicated by a color code. A tutor will always be available to remind you of the meaning of the color codes. The App also has an item search system and moreover, it will give you the opportunity to tell an object not found in order to find it in future updates. This tool help the patient, providing quick, simple and "at your fingertips" relevant information. The function of the App is to help pacemaker/defibrillator recipients. 

The link is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=solutions.brama.app.erpm&hl=it

Bye bye..