Concerns about sources of electromagnetic interference in patients with pacemakers.
Sakakibara Y, Mitsui T · 1999
View Original AbstractNearly 40% of pacemaker patients report interference from mobile phones, proving EMF affects medical devices in real-world conditions.
Plain English Summary
Japanese researchers surveyed nearly 1,600 pacemaker patients about electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems they experienced in daily life. Mobile phones were the biggest concern (affecting 39% of patients), followed by MRI machines (17%) and common household devices like kitchen appliances. The study highlights how our increasingly electromagnetic environment creates real quality-of-life issues for people with implanted medical devices.
Why This Matters
This study provides crucial real-world evidence that electromagnetic interference isn't just a theoretical concern for pacemaker patients. With nearly 40% of respondents reporting problems with mobile phones alone, we're seeing documented impacts on people's daily lives from devices that regulatory agencies continue to classify as safe for the general population. What makes this research particularly valuable is that it captures patient experiences rather than just laboratory testing of devices. The reality is that pacemaker patients serve as our most sensitive population for EMF effects, essentially functioning as early warning systems for electromagnetic health impacts. As our environment becomes increasingly saturated with wireless devices and EMF sources, the concerns documented in this 1999 study have only intensified. You don't have to have a pacemaker to recognize that if electromagnetic fields can interfere with sophisticated medical devices designed to keep people alive, they're likely having biological effects on all of us.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
Electromagnetic noise is rapidly increasing in our environment so electromagnetic interference (EMI) with pacemakers (PM) may become a more important problem despite technological improvements in PM. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinds of EMI which affect the quality of life of PM patients.
The participants (1,942 Japanese Association for Pacemaker Patients: Pacemaker-Tomonokai) were asked...
The main concerns were from mobile telephones (MT) (39%), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (17%), el...
Show BibTeX
@article{y_1999_concerns_about_sources_of_2556,
author = {Sakakibara Y and Mitsui T},
title = {Concerns about sources of electromagnetic interference in patients with pacemakers.},
year = {1999},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10737557/},
}