Danger for pacemaker patients with electric cars?

Electric cars pose no danger to patients with pacemakers

Every year more than 100,000 pacemakers are implanted in Germany. Patients are advised to be cautious about certain electronic devices as this may interfere with pacemaker function. However, electric cars pose no danger to people with pacemakers, as a study showed now.

Some electrical devices may interfere with pacemaker function

In the field of cardiac medicine, enormous progress has been made in recent years. For example, scientists from the United Kingdom have achieved positive results with new pacemakers, which makes the actual operation unnecessary, because the device is pushed through a vein to the heart. And scientists from the US reported experiments with pacemakers without a battery, which could get current from organs. But despite all the innovations, patients with a pacemaker still have to be careful with certain electrical appliances. For example, it is often advised to keep smartphones away from pacemakers. For newer products, however, this problem does not seem to exist anymore. However, certain equipment such as drills or induction cookers should be kept at a safe distance. Because of electric cars, people with pacemakers but apparently do not worry.

In Germany there are more and more electric cars. Many heart patients are worried that the vehicles could interfere with the function of pacemakers due to the electromagnetic fields they generate. But according to a new investigation, this fear is unfounded. (Image: psdesign1 / fotolia.com)

Every year more than 100,000 pacemakers are used

As the German Heart Foundation reports in a statement, several million people in Germany suffer from heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia.

Many sufferers need a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD / Defi) to regulate their heart rhythm..

According to the German Heart Report, around 110,000 pacemakers and ICDs are newly implanted in Germany every year.

Both heart implants can be susceptible to strong electromagnetic fields by misinterpreting these fields as pacemaker or ICD carrier own heart activity (so-called "oversensing"), thereby causing a dangerous suspension of pumping of the heart or falsely provoking ICD shocks can.

Electric cars generate an electromagnetic field, so that could also emanate from these vehicles disturbances on pacemakers and ICD.

Since the spread of electric cars and their use is likely to increase by cardiac patients, the interest of the heart medicine to investigate whether these disturbances can be questionable, large. However, there is still a lack of meaningful studies.

Uncertainty in cardiac patients

That's why the cardiologist Dr. med. Carsten Lennerz, Senior Physician at the German Heart Center Munich (DHM), conducted a study to clarify whether pacemaker and Defi patients pose serious disturbances of electric cars, driving the car and charging.

The work was awarded the August Wilhelm and Lieselotte Becht Research Prize of the German Foundation for Heart Research (DSHF).

"The findings of this work are important for physicians and for thousands of heart patients, who will use more and more private and professional electric cars in the future," said the cardiac surgeon and chair of the scientific advisory board of the DSHF, Prof. Dr. med. med. Hellmut Oelert.

"Reliable data enables physicians to make recommendations to their patients in this area and to reduce unnecessary anxiety for patients.".

The study was published in the journal "Annals of Internal Medicine".

"Many pacemaker and Defi carriers often react with great uncertainty to new electrical devices such as electric cars because of possible interference," explained Lennerz.

"Our research will provide patients and physicians with a more reliable data base to avoid unnecessary restrictions on the use of electric cars."

Study proves the safety of electric cars - for the time being

The researchers tested four electric car models with the highest market share (at the beginning of the study) in 108 subjects with pacemakers or ICDs from all manufacturers (pacemakers / ICDs in the following "CIEDs": Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices).

Each study participant was assigned one of the four electric cars and accelerated to a maximum on a rolling test bench, extended to 120 km / h and then charged the car with electricity.

The electromagnetic field inside and outside the car was measured while driving and charging. The interior of the vehicle is very well shielded against electromagnetic fields.

According to the information, the charging with electricity represents, if at all, the more critical moment, because here the strongest electromagnetic fields occur.

During the ride on the rolling test bench, an electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded on the volunteers in order to register electromagnetic field-induced disturbances of the CIED function.

"Our research did not indicate that EMUs pose serious electromagnetic interference that could disrupt CIEs," Lennerz said.

"Failure of the heart implants due to the use of electric cars are unlikely," said the expert.

A permanent all-clear, however, is not possible: "Electric cars are developing rapidly in construction and charging technology, which in the future requires new investigations."

Dreaded complications

CIEDs (pacemakers / ICDs) are designed to pick up electrical signals from the heart and use those signals to control the CIED pulses. These impulses ensure an undisturbed pumping work of the heart.

CIEDs can detect signals that have nothing to do with the heartbeat in the vicinity of an electromagnetic field, but misinterpret these signals as a "heartbeat" (= electromagnetic interference).

According to the German Heart Foundation, the device would thus falsely suspend and the patient's heart would then no longer be sufficiently supported in his pumping work.

Defibrillators could also mistakenly deliver shock therapies if the electromagnetic field were misinterpreted as a ventricular arrhythmia.

It is also discussed that electromagnetic fields could reprogram the implanted cardiac electrical devices. (Ad)