Pacemakers send electrical pulses to help your heart beat at a normal rate and rhythm. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or with an irregular rhythm. The researchers also checked the cardiac devices for any change in their programming or damage after charging the cars.A pacemaker is a small d evice used to treat some arrhythmias. Patients were monitored for any malfunction of their device, such as a failure to deliver pacing therapy or inaccurately sensing abnormally fast heart rhythms. They were then asked to plug in and charge each car with the charging cable placed directly over their cardiac device to maximize the likelihood of electromagnetic interference. The study participants had their cardiac devices programmed to optimize detection of electromagnetic interference. It is highly likely that future electric cars will take the highest charge, so the researchers also used a test vehicle that could draw 350 kW from the high-power chargers. These cars cannot take the maximal charge of 350 kW. About 21% were women.įour fully electric cars capable of high-power charging were used during the study. The researchers studied this with 130 patients who had a pacemaker or defibrillator. This was the first study to examine the risk of electromagnetic interference in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices while using high-power chargers,” he explained. “We previously investigated the risk of electromagnetic interference with cardiac devices while driving electric cars and found that the largest electromagnetic field was located along the charging cable. “The new high-power charging stations for electric cars have the potential to create strong electromagnetic fields and cause electromagnetic interference in pacemakers and defibrillators, leading them to malfunction,” Lennerz said. The concern was that the high-power chargers could cause the pacemakers to lose pace or defibrillators to deliver painful shock therapy by accident. While older and home chargers use alternating current (AC), new chargers use direct current (DC), which allows for higher-power delivery, the researchers noted.Ī greater charging current can mean a stronger magnetic field and a higher risk of electromagnetic interference, but there have been no official recommendations on the use of high-power chargers for patients with heart devices. Another 150,000 to 200,000 receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator each year. That means that about 8 million to 12 million people have pacemakers worldwide. People living with one have an average life expectancy of 8.5 years. Carsten Lennerz, of the German Heart Centre Munich.īetween 1 million and 1.4 million pacemakers will be implanted globally in 2023, according to the study authors. Despite this, we found no clinically relevant electromagnetic interference and no device malfunction during the use of high-power chargers, suggesting that no restrictions should be placed on their use for patients with cardiac devices,” said study author Dr. “This study was designed as a worst-case scenario to maximize the chance of electromagnetic interference. Yes, claims new research that also found home car chargers are likely also safe, as long as the person with the defibrillator or pacemaker does not stand next to the charger for long periods of time. MONDAY, Ap(HealthDay News) - Cars are going electric at record speed, but are the high-powered charging devices the cars need safe for people who have implanted heart devices? Editors and writers make all efforts to clarify any financial ties behind the studies on which we report. All of our articles are chosen independent of any financial interests. ![]() HeathDay is committed to maintaining the highest possible levels of impartial editorial standards in the content that we present on our website. Any known potential conflicts of interest associated with a study or source are made clear to the reader.Įditorial and Fact-Checking Policy for more detail.Įditorial and Fact-Checking Policy HealthDay Editorial Commitment.Each article includes a link or reference to the original source.Peer-reviewed journals or issued from independent and respected medical associations, academic groups and governmental organizations. Unless otherwise noted, all articles focusing on new research are based on studies published in.All articles are edited and checked for factual accuracy by our. ![]() ![]() Team of industry experts to ensure accuracy. Our syndicated news content is completely independent of any financial interests, is based solely on industry-respected sources and the latest scientific research, and is carefully fact-checked by a HealthDay operates under the strictest editorial standards.
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