High Tension wires

Greetings,

I had an ICD put in my chest on Sept 3rd and I am healing well. I returned to work last Thursday and during my 37 mile drive to work I was having chest pressure, light headedness and had to pant to breathe. When I arrived at my desk, co-workers commented that I did not look too good and I explained that I was feeling "shaky". I called the cardio pacing nurse and she had me come to the office in the afternoon.

The rep for Medtronic was in the office at the time and they both agreed that there was nothing wrong with my device.

When I was driving to work the following day I had the same sick feelings at the same places I had them the previous day, and I noticed that I was passing high tension wires at the time. They run along the elevated roadway, pretty close to the traffic. There are three distinct areas on my way the work and going home that I feel sick. Today, Sunday I drove along the expressway I take to work and I did get sick at the usual places, but not as bad because traffic was light and I could breeze right thru.

I am more sick when I have to sit in traffic on my way to work and I am exposed to the bad areas for a longer time. It is very common for traffic to be slow along this entire expressway during rush hour and I dread going to work next week.

I have another appointment with the pacer nurse tomorrow morning, and was wondering anyone else has experienced this problem. There are many high tension wires in the area where I live, but they do not bother me, only the super big ones lining the expressway to work seem to give me problems.

The customer service rep I spoke to at Metronic kept telling me that the high tension wires would not bother my device, as if I were crazy. I was not asking if they would, I know they do and I want to know what can be done to make it stop.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

8 Comments

I would have to agree with the meditronic rep..

by turboz24 - 2009-09-20 08:09:34

High tension power lines would only affect your device if you were hugging the cables. The magnetic field produced by the wires drops rapidly as the distance increases (I mean feet away it's going to be background levels).

I'd find out more about the settings on your device. Since it's an ICD, are you paced at all? I have an ICD and I'm not paced at all. Maybe it's related to sitting in the car for extended periods of time. Lots of people take many adjustments to their device before they are all settled.

REF PREVIOUS COMMENT

by pete - 2009-09-21 01:09:47

Antimagnetic strip is very unlikely to help in this situation as they are actually designed to discharge static electricity only. Remember that the magnetic field around a high voltage (HT) high current cable can be very high. There is a lot of controversy over this, even healthy people complain that they make them feel unwell. Cheers Peter

COULD JUST BE

by pete - 2009-09-21 02:09:47

I dont think you are imagining this problem. It might be caused by your car after a certain time. Bluetooth devices can interfere with pacemakers. However the power lines you are talking about could be carrying very high currents and there will be a electric/magnetic field around them. I have seen someone standing under some high tension wires holding a 5ft flourescent light tube above his head and the wires were about 30 ft above ground. The flourescent light/tube glowed !!!

anti magnetic strips

by agneslaney - 2009-09-21 04:09:38

hi sorry I forgot to mention, in the UK we can buy anti magnetic strips that are attached to the bottom of the car, it attached to the back of the car near the bumper and the end touches the ground to remove any static picked up in the car, it only costs a couple of GBP, it may help.

pacemaker booklet info

by agneslaney - 2009-09-21 05:09:02

The booklet given to me when I was given my pacemaker gave me warnings re mobile phone and not to keep it in my inside jacket pocket, but isn't it strange that they alway put the inside jacket pocket high up on the left, obviously for r/handed people but dangerous for people with pacemakers. the same goes for mens shirts with pocket on the left. Also I quite believe that static electricity can affect pacemakers, I was at a wedding and when the band started to play , the had very large speakers, I felt not so good, as a matter of fact, I had to go home. The next day I went to my pacemaker technician and he had to adjust it as it had changed so I do believe magnetic fields do play a lot with it.
Agnes

Electric Wires

by ElectricFrank - 2009-09-21 06:09:04

The high tension wires aren't the problem. I explore out in the desert here in California and have walked under the very high voltage lines that carry power from Hoover Dam. No problem other than my feeling silly standing under a million volts (I'm an electronic engineer).

The important thing is that being in a metal car body shields you even more from the effects of the lines.

Having said this I'm not negating your experience of feeling sick at the locations you describe. There may be something else happening.

Several others have mentioned the psychological effects that can happen. I know this is a sensitive subject for many, it is real and no sign of anything wrong with a person. Particularly if we have had the experience of getting very light headed or passing out before receiving the pacer, it can sensitize us to a trigger. One of the most common examples is having a person pass out in a crowded room and having the rest of the crowd smelling gas or something. I could go into a long theoretical expaination, but better yet here is a suggestion.

Next time you approach the power lines ut your attention on your breathing and make your breaths gentle and long. I call it being "Long of Breath" rather than "short of breath". Check out how this affects your experience.

Best of luck,

frank

Minor comment

by mrag - 2009-09-21 12:09:46

I have a Guidant ICD and on their web site, there is an example of someone leaning DIRECTLY against a retail store's "security panel" (anti shop lifting gizmo) and passing out. This of course was/is considered an extreme example.

However, while this keeps me open to believing almost anything, I seriously doubt the high tension wires have any direct connection to your problems. Obviously there could be psychological issues at work here-the point is you feel bad, who and how to fix is the question.

I'd call Medtronics home office again AND Boston Scientic's (Guidant) AND St. Judes and talk to their tech depts (search for their web sites which will have the contact numbers) and ask them what they think.

I've had an ICD for over 3 years now. They are wonderful, incredible devices though that can drive you nuts especially since they are coupled with a bum heart. There is a tremendous mental adjustment required to accept an ICD which almost no one (except those with one) recognizes.

car stereo speakers??

by Hot Heart - 2009-09-27 08:09:01

Some of these really high powered speakers may have really strong magnets. However, I have been in cars with the speakers booming and have been ok, but I did read that they can affect some people.

HH

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