iPods can damage pacemakers

14 May, 2007

The iPod, no doubt, may be seen as a revolution in the tech arena. However, a new study has brought about shocking truths. It has been found by medical research that an iPod can trigger monitoring malfunctions in cardiac pacemakers due to electromagnetic interference. This could mean that loving your iPod and keeping it close to your heart might be bad for your health, especially if you're fitted with a pacemaker.

Shocking, isn’t it? The tech impact of the iPod has, in fact, reinvented the way we listen to music. This has helped the gadget dominate the digital music marketplace. Medical truths can't be ignored, though.

According to a report, the study done by Jay Thaker, a 17-year-old high school student, and presented to a selection of heart specialists in the US, says that close proximity to an iPod can trigger monitoring malfunctions in cardiac pacemakers due to electromagnetic interference. Thaker is a student at the Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan.

As per the study findings, iPod units positioned a mere 2 inches from the chests of patients fitted with a pacemaker caused electrical interference in 50 per cent of them, the report added. It said that even when kept 18 inches away from a patient's chest, electrical interference was registered as disrupting the pacemaker's telemetry equipment. This in turn leads to the implanted device to misinterpret the pace of the heart. More importantly, one of the tests in this regard found that the pacemaker ceased to function completely.

The Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute at the Michigan State University had commissioned the study among 100 patients with an average age of 77, all equipped with pacemaker devices.

Meanwhile, it has also been noted that that the patient and age demographic generally associated with iPod use doesn't coincide with the related demographic of those fitted with pacemakers, and therefore actual figures connected to possible misdiagnosis are hard to amass.