Preliminary Study Finds that MP3 Players May Interfere with Pacemakers
iPods caused pacemakers to malfunction in 50 percent of patients, according to a new study presented today by a 17-year-old high school student at Heart Rhythm 2007, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 28th Annual Scientific Sessions. When held two inches from the patients’ chests for five to 10 seconds, iPods interfered with telemetry equipment monitoring the heart, caused implantable pacemakers to misread the heart’s pacing, and, in one case, caused the device to stop functioning.
“For people depending on these pacing devices, iPod interference can lead physicians to misdiagnose the actual heart function,” said Jay Thaker, lead author and a high school senior at Okemos High School in Okemos, MI. “Our findings are disconcerting because although the typical pacemaker patient may not be an iPod user, they are often in close contact with grandchildren or other young people who are avid users.”
