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iPods can make pacemakers malfunction: study
By Debra ShermanThu May 10, 4:07 PM ET

iPods can cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction by interfering with the electromagnetic equipment monitoring the heart, according to a study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists on Thursday.

The study tested the effect of the portable music devices on 100 patients, whose mean age was 77, outfitted with pacemakers. Electrical interference was detected half of the time when the iPod was held just 2 inches from the patient's chest for 5 to 10 seconds.

The study did not examine any portable music devices other than iPods, which are made by Apple Inc.

In some cases, the iPods caused interference when held 18 inches from the chest. Interfering with the telemetry equipment caused the device to misread the heart's pacing and in one case caused the pacemaker to stop functioning altogether.

The study was held at the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute at Michigan State University. The results were presented at the Heart Rhythm Society annual meeting in Denver.

Jay Thaker, lead author of the study and a student at Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, concluded that iPod interference can lead physicians to misdiagnose actual heart function.

Thaker, whose father is an electrophysiologist and whose mother is a rheumatologist, said he asked his dad about a potential interaction between pacemakers and iPods.

"We looked online but didn't see anything. Then, one of his patients asked him if there would be a problem, so (my father) put me in touch with Dr. Krit (Jongnarangsin)," Thaker said in a telephone interview.

Jongnarangsin, a long-time friend of Thaker's father, is the senior author of the study and an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan.

"Most pacemaker patients are not iPod users," Jongnarangsin said. For that reason, he said, it is unclear how often iPods cause misdiagnosis.

"This needs to be studied more," Jongnarangsin added.

Thaker said he is interested in doing a similar study about how implantable cardioverter defibrillators, known as ICDs, are affected by iPods.





Most pacemaker patients are not iPod users, but what about other uses, such as our VNS. What do you suppose the average age is of a VNS patient and what would the effect be to us? For me, with TRD, probably nothing, but for a seizure patient, could be devastating : g :

Interesting one. Although I don't own or use an IPod, I travel with many people who do. Personally the THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, of the music drives me nuts. Now if I could have a medical cert from the doc confirming this, I might be able to ask any fellow commuter to TURN IT OFF !!!!!

I LIKE THIS ONE. : lighten : :Great!:

:excl: Thank you second gen!

This is something we better keep our eye on. I know that the manual says cell phones shouldn't cause a problem but to avoid anything with an electromagnitic field.

Now, if I swiped my magnet across the offending iPod, would that help my cause?

If it erased the ipod's memory it might... of course, if the ipod contained purchased (downloaded) music, you might be liable for the cost of replacement!

Better be able to run like hell after doing that! :ROFLMAO:

I guess I could proudly state that this high school student lives minutes down the road from my house. My daughters used to attend this school. MSU is our local campus and you can't hardly move about without having to cross it. A lot of good research comes out of there. That's where my psych clinic is located.

Not that I had anything to do with any of this, LOL, just thought I'd mention it.

I think the significance is in the fact that iPods tout little carriers that you put on your bicep, just inches from our generators while you jog and such. (Not that many of us are out there doing any of that nasty stuff :lol:) but, there are a multitude of products designed to hold these little devices close to our bodies, close to our head and neck area (and close to our chest area) so that we may go about our business without dealing with carrying them.


Having had a bit of a rough week after my activation a week and a half ago, I certainly don't want to deal with anything as silly as a little iPod jumbling my settings when I'm not looking. <_<

My reply would be:

"Sorry about that. I felt a seizure coming on, and reached for my magnet to swipe my VNS to try and stop it. I had no idea as to where my arm would go, and the fact that it came close enough to your iPod so as to erase the memory was completely beyond my control. In fact, it was probably your iPod that caused the seizure, so things were definitely outside my control."

Not sure how well that would stand up in court, but it's worth a try.

You try it first, let me know how it goes. If you get away with it, then I'll see if I can get away with it without getting pounded... mmmkay? :D

This is when the VNS wrist strap magnet doubles as a knuckle-duster. Cyberonics think of everything :D :ROFLMAO:

I use an Ipod and haven't had any problems in 18 months with my VNS. Mine is for TRD.



Labrat :im_033:

omg my son has an ipod.. he just recieved his VNS. last week.. should i be worried?? he LOVES THAT THING TOO!!