Welding vest to use with a pacemaker

Weldng vest

by bhdavis - 2017-05-11 13:53:48

I looked into just such an item when I got my Pacemaker put in last November.  I found several foil vest like items online that claimed to provide shielding for welding.  I discussed them with my doctor and the engineers at St. Judes and both said it was not a viable option.  While wrapping yourself in foil sounds like a good way to create a grounding shield around yourself in reality it's likely not going to protect the Pacemaker.

The issue with welding is that the Pacemaker can interpret the electrical field emitted by the welder to be the heart taking a beat on its own.  If this electrical field lasted long enough then the Pacemaker might not generate an electrical impulse to the heart when needed.  If someone is dependent upon their Pacemaker to keep their heart beating then they could pass out or worse from the lack of a heart beat.

I can still do cautious welding because my heart is not dependent upon the Pacemaker. After over 40 years of running my heart will beat at 40 to 45 bpm on its own during the day and in t he low 30s when I sleep.   I had to have the Pacemaker implant because the Metoprolol I have to take for Afib would cause that low 30s at night to drop even lower which would be dangerous. 

So during the day if a welder were to trick my Pacemaker into thinking it didn't need to provide a heart beat I likely would not even feel the difference.  But as I said if I do any welding I still need to be very cautious and do everything I can to reduce the risk.

BH

welding

by Tracey_E - 2017-05-12 23:04:08

ARC welding is the only kind we  need to be careful of. Other welding will not affect the pacer.