Backpack with magnet on the chest strap

Hi, I am Nico, 39 years old and I have a pacemaker fitted on the 16th of May 2017, a St Jude Endurity. I wanted to buy a motorcycle backpack from Velomacchi (the one at this link: https://www.velomacchi.com/products/28l-speedway-backpack), but I noticed that the backpack has a big circular magnet on the chest strap. Will this be safe to use with my pacemaker or should I avoid that? I have asked the manufacturer directly but they replied to me that they have no idea so I was wondering if any of you knows about it or found themselves in a similar situation.

Many thanks, Nico :)

2 Comments

Magnet

by Good Dog - 2022-08-22 10:38:03

Hello Nico. Welcome to the club! We are happy to have you here. It was very wise of you to check this out before you bought. Good decision! I cannot say with any specificity, but as you probably know, magnets and pacemakers are not friends unless you are receiving a pacer check. A magnet over your PM will activate its predetermined magnet rate. I have no idea what that is for your specific model. In any case, You should keep it at least 12 inches away from your PM. After viewing that specific backpack, I regret to have to tell you NO! That magnet is entirely too close to your PM for comfort. While placing a magnet too close to your pacemaker is unlikely to permanently harm you in any serious way, it can negatively impact how you feel. That can possibly result in indirect harm by causing you to become dizzy, lose your balance, etc. Most manufacturers warn that if you accidently come in close contact with a strong magnet and it affects how you feel, simply back away from it.  It is unlikely to cause any permanent harm. 

I have provided a link below for recommendations regarding electromagnetic fields. Although it isn't published by the manufacturer of your device, in most cases it is universally applicable.

https://www.medtronic.com/content/dam/medtronic-com/01_crhf/tachy/documents/EMC%20Guide%202016%20201103391eENp8.pdf?bypassIM=true

I am sure there are a lot of great choices for backpacks without magnets. So go get one!

I wish you the best!

Sincerely,

Dave

magnets

by Tracey_E - 2022-08-22 12:37:27

Rule of thumb is keep it 6" from our devices. Most magnets outside of industrial settings aren't large enough to cause problems but looking at the photos, I think this might be too much. If it's strong enough to hold the pack together, it's probably strong enough to put the pacer in test mode. And it sits right over it. I think I'd keep shopping. 

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