iPods may interfere with pacemakers

[babylonsister]

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/05/11/pacemaker-ipod.html

IPods may interfere with pacemakers
Last Updated: Friday, May 11, 2007 | 12:44 PM ET
CBC News

People with implantable pacemakers may want to be cautious when listening to tunes on their iPods. Interference from the portable music player could cause pacemakers to malfunction, a study suggests.

Electrical devices such as cellphones, appliances and microwave ovens can cause interference, leading doctors to advise heart patients not to place the devices over pacemakers.

Jay Thaker, a 17-year-old high school student, wondered if iPods cause a similar effect. To find out, he tested iPods on 83 people with pacemakers, with an average age of 77.

When an iPod was held above five centimeters from the chests of the patients for five to 10 seconds, electrical interference was detected in about half of the 800 trials.

Pacemakers misfired because they may have mistaken electronic signals from iPods as a rhythm problem, said Thaker.

more...

[shain from kane]

1. It's got no beat, and you can't dance to it.

[spoony]

7. lol

That's so bad :dilemma: :rofl:

[YOY]

2. I know they cause problems with Morning commuters on the Metro

ah..."Podpeople"

[sdfernando]

3. Lets all send iPods to Crashcart! /nt

[babylonsister]

4. Great idea!

:rofl:

[Canuckistanian]

5. I'm skeptical of this

iPods don't make that much interference, they're really low-powered devices.

If iPods could affect pacemakers, then there's a serious problem with the pacemakers themselves. There are much worse interferers out there than ipods.

[grasswire]

6. Cheney has an ipod, doesn't he?

I seem to recall a tidbit about the musical choices he'd loaded.