It seems counterintuitive that sophisticated devices designed to monitor wellbeing could interfere with lifesaving medical technology. But the same powerful wave-based signals that enable swift data transmission in sleek modern gadgets can also spell trouble for implanted cardiac devices.
Pacemakers rely on meticulously timed and tuned electrical signals to ensure each heartbeat arises when it should. The last thing patients with rhythm disorders need is chaotic electromagnetic noise disrupting their delicate pacing systems. Yet that is precisely the emerging challenge with our wireless-saturated lifestyles, as most patients – and even many physicians – remain unaware.
The notion that smartphones and slick wearables potentially endangering heart patients’ lives flies strangely in the face of their public image. People imagine them as symbols of technological progress improving health and connectivity. That makes this digital threat to pacemaker patients somehow more surprising yet insidious.
So how exactly can innocuous devices compromise pacing function to the point of causing dizziness, shortness of breath, or worse? Read on to grasp an unexpected phenomenon that deserves broader understanding in our increasingly wireless-dependent society. Because a few simple precautions empower us to harness technology’s power without sacrificing the well-being of those relying on implanted devices.
CONTEXT
As digital devices like smartphones and smartwatches grow ever more ubiquitous, an unexpected health hazard is emerging. The same wireless signals enabling our devices’ connectivity can also seriously disrupt implanted cardiac devices, namely pacemakers. Patients and medical professionals alike need greater awareness of this modern “digital interference” phenomenon.
How Pacemakers Keep the Beat
Pacemakers are small implants placed under the skin that send electrical signals to the heart to maintain proper rhythm. They possess leads that release timed electrical pulses, stimulating the heart to contract and pump blood effectively. More advanced pacemaker systems have sensors to adapt heart rates to activity levels or breathing rates. All of this complex technology works to counter heartbeat irregularities stemming from conditions like arrhythmias.
The Rising Threat of Electromagnetic Interference
The very wireless signals that allow smart devices to update, connect, and communicate over the airwaves also emit electromagnetic waves. The concern is that these can interfere with or override pacemaker activity. Resulting disruptions range from temporarily changing detected heart rhythms to fully halting pacemakers’ electrical pulses altogether until the signals desist. Such electronic interference has always posed problems for medical devices, but the scale of exposure is unprecedented in the ubiquitous wireless era we now inhabit.
Documented Digital Disruptions
Studies and case reports increasingly associate digital disruptions with adverse pacemaker events. For example, one study found holding an iPad just 2.5 inches from a patient’s chest could cause electromagnetic interference 30% of the time. Placing an Apple Watch too close led to pacing mode switching or inappropriate pacing inhibition in another reported case. Patients themselves may feel nothing – or symptoms like dizziness, chest pain, and shortness of breath from pacemaker disruptions. Device readouts and EKG monitoring reveal the problems.
Minimizing Your Risk
Simple precautions greatly reduce chances for device interference while still allowing use of smartphones and tablets. Experts suggest keeping devices at least six inches from implanted pacemakers whenever powered on. Also turn phones completely off or utilize airplane mode before getting into MRI machines, which pose a higher risk for interference given their strong magnetic fields. Patients should discuss with doctors the risks regarding wearable tech too prior to using items like smartwatches and fitness trackers just to be safe.
The way forward
As digital connectivity expands, vigilance around preventing device disruptions remains critical. But emerging solutions like improved pacemaker shielding and signal filtering provide hope. With sensible usage precautions and technological progress, patients with implanted cardiac devices can confidently utilize wireless gadgets to enrich their lives. The key is open dialogue between patients, medical teams and device makers to ensure heart health is supported rather than compromised.
