Headphones may hinder pacemakers

Headphones used with MP3 digital music players like the iPod may interfere with heart pacemakers and implantable defibrillators.An implantable cardioverter defibrillator signals the heart to normalise its rhythm if it gets too fast or slow. A magnet could de-activate it, making it ignore an abnormal heart rhythm instead of delivering an electrical shock to normalise it. The MP3 players themselves pose no threat to pacemakers and defibrillators, used to normalise heart rhythm. But strong little magnets inside the headphones can interfere with the devices if placed within 1.2 inches of them.Researchers from America tested eight models of MP3 player headphones, including clip-on and ear-bud types, in 60 defibrillator and pacemaker patients. They placed the headphones on the patients' chests, directly over the devices. It was found that the headphones interfered with the heart devices in about a quarter of the patients - 14 of the 60 - and the interference was twice as likely to occur in patients with a defibrillator compared with those with a pacemaker.Another study led by American researchers showed that cellular phones equipped with wireless technology known as Bluetooth were unlikely to interfere with pacemakers. A pacemaker sends electrical impulses to the heart to speed up or slow cardiac rhythm. The magnet, however, could make it deliver a signal no matter what the heart rate is, possibly leading to palpitations or arrhythmia.The defibrillator / pacemakers usually resume working normally after the headphones are removed. It is fine for patients to use their headphones normally, meaning they can listen to music and keep the headphones in their ears. But what they should not do is put the headphones on their chest near their device. Therefore people with pacemakers or defibrillators should not place the headphones in a shirt pocket or coat pocket near the chest when they are not being used, drape them over their chest or have others who are wearing headphones rest their head on their chest.The researchers urge consumers to inform themselves about proper use of products with magnets, and encouraged people with pacemakers to understand how headphones can be used safely.

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