IPods

Has anyone experienced interference from their IPod? I have a 5 1/2 year old boy and he wants an IPod. He listens to his brother's regularly, but we make sure the IPod isn't close to the left side of his abdomen. The next time we see the Cardiologist, I may take the IPod to see if we can cause interference.

4 Comments

ipods

by Susan - 2007-10-08 09:10:01

I have been using an iPod when I work out with no problem of interference. Just to make sure though, I did contact the manufacturer of my pacemaker, St. Jude, and asked them. The study that was done saying there was interference didn't identify what pacemakers they were testing. St. Jude said they have tested iPods and have not detected any problems nor have they received complaints. As a precaution, they did say not to place the iPod directly over the pacemaker.
The manufactuers of pacemakers do have customer service departments that can answer all sorts of questions. I would recommend contacting the specific manufacturer of your son's pacemaker, otherwise you may get sort of a generic response from a doctor who read the same article that really wasn't pacemaker specfic.
Susan

caution

by marisab - 2007-10-08 09:10:11

Well, i havent personally but....there was a post a month ago about ipods and someone looked up an article and it was a proven fact by some doctor that ipods do interfer with a pm. So you should be careful and talk to your cardiologist first.

IPods

by ela-girl - 2007-10-08 09:10:26

Hi, Sadiesun!

There is mixed information on IPods causing interference with pacemakers. I think you are wise to take it with you to the next cardiologist appointment and see what happens. Let us know! In the meantime, I think you are being smart playing it safe and having your son keep the IPod a safe distance from the pm site.

ela-girl

Ipod

by slarnerd - 2007-10-11 02:10:05

My paced son is 15 months (also abdominal) and I asked about this at his last check-up. Our program sees over 150 kids (18 and under) with pacemakers and the nurse said that she has tested them for some kids and has never seen an interference - still she recommends, as with many things, just not to hold it over the pacer site. I would suggest that you take your other son's Ipod to the next EP check-up and have them test it while he is hooked up. I did this recently with some Brio Thomas trains and was thrilled to see that not only was there no interference, the pacer didn't even recognize the magnets! Good luck - hope your son gets that Ipod.

Sterling

You know you're wired when...

Your heart beats like a teenager in love.

Member Quotes

I just want to share about the quality of life after my pacemaker, and hopefully increase awareness that lifestyles do not have to be drastically modified just because we are pacemaker recipients.