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Pacemakers vs Metal Detectors

Chipk

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
3,314
Location
Jacksonville / Yulee Florida
I may soon require a pacemaker and my wife read articles saying metal detectors can interfere with a pacemakers functionality. Now I know there are various metal detectors including stronger commercial equipment and the articles didn’t differentiate

Anybody have an internal pacemaker AND use a metal detector AND not die?

If you did die, please be sure to respond. Lol.
 
Contact Garrett!

I may soon require a pacemaker and my wife read articles saying metal detectors can interfere with a pacemakers functionality. Now I know there are various metal detectors including stronger commercial equipment and the articles didn’t differentiate

Anybody have an internal pacemaker AND use a metal detector AND not die?

If you did die, please be sure to respond. Lol.

There is no warning in the Garrett AT Pro instruction manual about pacemakers. If you are still using those Garrett machines as indicated by your equipment list, my suggestion would be to contact Garrett directly and ask them. Garrett has a security division also, so they should be well versed on how their equipment might affect pacemakers. I spent my entire career doing nuclear cardiology scans. The thing I would be concerned about is the walk through metal detectors like they have at airports, courthouses and government buildings. The signal emitted by our hobby detectors is probably very weak compared to a walk through detector. Some of those internal pacemakers just kick in when the heart rate goes too low. Others are a pacemaker/defribillator combo which can give a shock if it senses a need for a shock. My mother's would shock "the devil" out of her when she least expected it and she did not like it. In jest I always told Mrs. atomicbrh that I wish I had a remote to that thing to shock her when she had the great idea of blowing her social social security check every month at the casino. I would not put a pin point right on the pacemaker to see what happens. I would not want that thing going into some kind of continuous shock mode. The cardiologist would be the last person I would ask. They will always err on the side of caution. As many people as we have here on this forum, there should be at least one pacemaker salesman. The salesmen know more than anybody about their product. Thinking back, we had serious walkthrough metal detectors at the hospital because of criminal activity, thousands of cardiology patients and nothing unusual going on with pacemakers.
 
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The cardiologist would be the last person I would ask. They will always err on the side of caution. As many people as we have here on this forum, there should be at least one pacemaker salesman. The salesmen know more than anybody about their product.

The doctor should be the first person you ask and the "salesman" being the last....:?:
 
The doctor should be the first person you ask and the "salesman" being the last....:?:

Not necessarily.

Like was said before, doctors are more likely to err on the side of caution. After all, the last thing they want to do is get sued for giving "wrong" medical advice.

A good way to illustrate: watch/listen to a TV ad about a new prescription drug and listen/read the warnings and side effects. If that drug had a realistic chance of causing all those side effects, do you really thing it would be available to the general public? No, of course not. But the drug company needs to mention all the risks, no matter how small. Many doctors are in a similar position.
 
Technical Expertise

The doctor should be the first person you ask and the "salesman" being the last....:?:
To further explain my statement:
A sales person for pacemakers is very different from people who sell cars, pharmaceuticals and other medical devices such as X-Ray machines and wheelchairs. I have been retired for many years but if I remember correctly, pacemaker salesmen would actually go in the Cath lab to assist the Interventional Cardiologist in the installation of the pacemaker. The pacemaker salesman has special knowledge, usually a background in surgical or Cath lab nursing or interventional radiology and is accustomed to maintaining a sterile field. They know more about the technical details, construction and functions of their company's pacemaker than any physician. That is what I directly observed.
 
Medtronic Pacemakers

Most likely there are many different pacemaker manufacturers and each one makes a product to fit different patient needs but here is a link to Medtronic and just one of their products called the "Micra".


https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/patients/treatments-therapies/pacemakers/our/micra.html

Look on their FAQ page:
WILL ITEMS CONTAINING MAGNETS AFFECT MY MICRA?
Maybe. We recommend keeping items containing magnets at least 6 inches away from an implanted pacemaker. This includes mobile phones, magnetic therapy products, stereo speakers, and handheld massagers. We do not recommend putting a mobile phone in your shirt pocket or using magnetic mattress pads and pillows.

IS IT SAFE TO GO THROUGH AN AIRPORT METAL DETECTOR?
Yes, you can safely go through airport security with this device.
 
Last Summer I was at our local flea market and a guy I know just about freaked when he saw me using the MD in the grass. He said he had a pacemaker and said "stay away! with that thing!

Haven't seen him this year at all, hope he's ok.
 
I know just enough to be dangerous, but with what I do know..

Pacemakers have a switch that turns them on and off. That internal switch is activated via an external magnet waved over the area where the device was implanted. This is why they tell you to avoid items containing magnets. They also advise to stay away from microwave ovens. This was a big thing in the early days of pacemakers, and you'll notice a few microwaves still carry a warning. I will say DO talk to your doctor FIRST. He can give you product information specific to the device that will be implanted. This will give you the basic information to research the exact device you will receive. You will probably be given contact information for a representative from the company who males that particular device. Get specific information on the specific device you are to get implanted. Do not rely on general information about a "pacemaker". Get specific information. You can only get this from the doctor; he is the one making the decision on which device you'll get.
 
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