Thank you for posting this article.

If anyone has any concerns regarding pacemakers and ICD's, then please don't hesitate to contact the Arrhythmia-Alliance. We will be happy to provide any material on the devices or advice you with any questions. The research states to keep headphones approximately 3cm away from the pacemaker/ICD and all will be ok. There is only a slim risk if the contact becomes closer.

Thank you again for sharing.

Any queries, please call A-A on 01789 450 787.

Thank you - Francesca

--- In heartrhythm-AA@yahoogroups.com, Old Yorkie wrote:
>
> I noticed the following disturbing story on the Daily Telegraph
> website a few minutes ago:
>
>
> Personal headphones could cause pacemakers to malfunction, study warns
> Personal headphones could put patients with pacemakers at risk because
> their strong magnets can make the devices malfunction, new research
> suggests.
>
>
> By Sarah Knapton
> Last Updated: 3:22PM GMT 09 Nov 2008
>
> An American study found that draping headphones over the chest or
> putting them in a pocket while listening to music could change the
> rate at which a pacemaker delivers signals to the heart.
>
> Study leader Dr William Maisel, director of the Medical Device Safety
> Institute at Beth Israel Medical Centre in Boston, said: "For patients
> with pacemakers, exposure to the headphones can force the device to
> deliver signals to the heart, causing it to beat without regard to the
> patients' underlying heart rhythm,
>
> "Exposure of a defibrillator to the headphones can temporarily
> deactivate the defibrillator."
>
> While pacemakers keep the heart beating at a regular rate, implantable
> cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) correct abnormal heart rhythms.
> Sometimes both vital functions are incorporated into a single machine.
>
> Earlier this year US regulators the Food and Drugs Administration
> assured members of the public that digital music players were unlikely
> to affect implanted heart devices.
>
> But Dr Maisel's team investigated whether there might be a problem
> with headphones since they produce a magnetic field.
>
> The researchers tested eight different headphone models connected to
> MP3 players, including clip-on and earbud varieties, on 60 pacemaker
> and defibrillator patients.
>
> "We placed the headphones on the patients' chests, directly over where
> their devices are located, monitoring them for evidence of
> interaction," said Dr Maisel.
>
> In 15 per cent of pacemaker patients and 30 per cent of defibrillator
> patients, the researchers detected interference.
>
> Removing the headphones usually caused the device to function normally.
>
> "Patients should not focus on the brands we tested but instead should
> simply be instructed to keep their headphones at least three
> centimetres from their implantable devices,' said Dr Maisal.
>
> He warned patients to be careful not to carry headphones in a breast
> pocket or draped over their chest.
>