A curiosity - lightheaded in stores?

Not sure there is anything to it, but I was looking at one of the other blogs, and people were reporting feeling lightheaded in some stores, one fellow attributed it to the security systems that may be affecting the pacemakers.

This is exactly what happened to me last Wednesday at Kohls.  After 10 minutes in the store I got light headed and my wife had to drive me home.  When I checked  my BP  it had spiked to about 190 over 90...   way above normal.

Perhaps it's a coincidences so I'm asking if anyone here has had that experience?

Please comment if this happened to you or if this is crazy.....

5 Comments

Store security system effects

by LondonAndy - 2017-11-22 14:28:46

I haven't had this, but if a security system was to have an effect I would expect this to be only when very close to those sensor things they have at the entrances.  Moving away from them would stop the problem.

Feeling light headed can also occur if you are dehydrated, and this can happen without you actually feeling thirsty.  Your elevated heart rate could be because of an anxiety attack thinking you are being affected by something?  Had you been out shopping for long, or was your wife spending more than you expected?!  I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but my point is we should not assume that ill effects we may experience are down to having a pacemaker, or interference, which is increasingly unlikely in current generation devices.

Don't blame the pacemaker

by Gotrhythm - 2017-11-22 14:36:50

It happens to me. But I don't think it's the store, and I don't think it has anything to do with my pacemaker. I think it's anywhere I stand relatively still for relatively long periods--as one does while browsing through a store. But long lines can also be an issue. 

How long is too long depends many factors, temperature, how tired and/or hydrated I am, other stressors like altitude or air pollution, and whether it's a day when my heart is behaving relatively well or poorly. (I have rhythm issues that the pacemaker can't really help.)

It happens even to people who don't have pacemakers, or any particular heart disease, and it's much more common in older people. The problem is that as we age, our body becomes less efficient at maintaining a steady blood pressure in all positions. Blood pressure begins to fluctuate much more--both up and down.

Your doctor can perform tests to determine if maintaining blood pressure is the issue, but there's not a lot other than common sense measures to be done about it.

An Earlier Post About This Phenomenon

by MartyP - 2017-11-22 17:08:57

This was an earlier post with supporting observations in other stores..  Happy Reading

Https://www.pacemakerclub.com/message/28926/tag-alarms-in-shops

Tag alarms in shops - by Rhiannalydia - 2015-11-19 01:11:18

6 comments

Hi everyone
This might sound a little weird.. But everytime I go into tesco (supermarket in the UK) the alarms that go off on shop lifters keep on going off when I walk through!! It's never a tag or anything in my bag that sets them off as it still does it when I walk into the store and now I don't even take my bag in because it's really embarrassing that people think I'm shop lifting. Can pacemakers set these alarms off? Also can they interfere with the device? I always feel really weary of walking through them ( I am definitely not a shop lifter) it's just getting really annoying now! it's not all stores just mostly that one! But a couple others do too!! Feedback please does this happen to anyone els? Should I bring it up with my doctor??

Some Stores Just Sap My Energy

by Shaun - 2017-11-22 18:37:38

.... which one do you prefer? this one? or that? I guess shopping just is not my idea of fun. At least many stores now have cafeterias where I can grab a coffee while my lovely wife does the shopping. 

Yes Marty

by Grateful Heart - 2017-11-22 23:15:46

Some of us have set off store security alarms on the way out of certain stores or on the way IN as you have discovered in some previous posts.  We have learned to walk briskly past the detectors to avoid setting them off and stares.  :)  I can count at least 4 stores where this has occurred as well as high profile buildings with magnetometers.  

It's also possible you may have been near some very strong magnets (not necessarily large....but strong) or other security devices placed within the store.  If you feel it, just try moving away and see if it feels better.  Part of our new normal for some of us.  

Your initial post asked about BP spikes in connection with store security alarms.  I don't know about that since I never went right home to check my BP.....I just kept on shopping.  :)   

Grateful Heart

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