Electromagnetic Interference in Implantable Pacemakers *

The inhibited pacemaker (VVI or AAI) has become the most popular in recent years because of its ability to combine a physiological advantage with economical current consumption in cases with spontaneous activity. One of its disadvantages is its sensitivity to external electromagnetic interference. Though today's pacemakers possess, effective protection against most interference signals there may be instances in which patients are subjected to uncomfortable or even life‐threatening situations. This is the case of “amplitude modulated” or “pulsed” fields with modulation frequencies in the physiological range. Fields of that sort have been found in the vicinity of a welder, an electric steel plant, and in medical practice where therapeutic currents were applied. Even touch‐actuated switches may influence a demand pacemaker. However, these situations may be overcome by a device within the pacemaker for simple time analysis which can be carried out with few components. If electromagnetic fields of diathermy equipment are applied, today's pacemakers may react with intolerably high or low rates. They should, therefore, be avoided.

[1]  S. Lerner.  Suppression of a Demand Pacemaker by Transurethral Electrocautery , 1973, Anesthesia and analgesia.

[2]  J. K. O'Donoghue,et al.  Inhibition of a demand pacemaker by electrosurgery. , 1973, Chest.

[3]  L H Woolley,et al.  A preliminary evaluation of the effects of electrical pulp testers on dogs with artificial pacemakers. , 1974, Journal of the American Dental Association.

[4]  S. Furman,et al.  Pacemaker triggering (inhibition) by electric toothbrush , 1976 .

[5]  D Röhl,et al.  [The effect of radar on cardiac pacemakers. 3. Reduction of interference susceptibility through metal-shielding and electrode filtering (author's transl)]. , 1974, Biomedizinische Technik. Biomedical engineering.

[6]  W. Wajszczuk,et al.  Deactivation of a demand pacemaker by transurethral electrocautery. , 1969, The New England journal of medicine.

[7]  W. Irnich,et al.  Störbeeinflussung von Herzschrittmachern Störquellen, Störverhalten Gegenmaßnahmen , 1974 .

[8]  T. Preston.  Anodal stimulation as a cause of pacemaker-induced ventricular fibrillation. , 1973, American heart journal.

[9]  T. Gibson,et al.  Pacemaker function in relation to electroconvulsive therapy. , 1973, Chest.

[10]  H. Krüskemper,et al.  [Pacemaker racing during high-frequency therapy]. , 1977 .

[11]  G. Ford,et al.  Evaluation of effects of the microwave oven (915 and 2450 MHz) and radar (2810 and 3050 MHz) electromagnetic radiation on noncompetitive cardiac pacemakers. , 1973, IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering.