Study: iPods can cause pacemakers to malfunction

iPods can cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction, according to a study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a meeting of heart specialists at Michigan State University this week. “The study tested the effect of the portable music devices on 100 patients, whose mean age was 77, outfitted with pacemakers,” reports Reuters. “Electrical interference was detected half of the time when the iPod was held just 2 inches from the patient’s chest for 5 to 10 seconds. In some cases, the iPods caused interference when held 18 inches from the chest. Interfering with the telemetry equipment caused the device to misread the heart’s pacing and in one case caused the pacemaker to stop functioning altogether.”