How Will a Pacemaker Affect my Lifestyle?

Once you have a pacemaker, you have to avoid close or prolonged contact with electrical devices or devices that have strong magnetic fields. Devices for which close and prolonged exposure can interfere with a pacemaker include:

• Cell phones
• iPods
• Appliances, such as microwave ovens
• High-tension wires
• Metal detectors
• Industrial welders
• Electrical generators

These devices can disrupt the electrical signaling of your pacemaker and stop it from working properly. You may not be able to tell whether your pacemaker has been affected. How likely a device is to disrupt your pacemaker depends on how long you're exposed to it and how close it is to your pacemaker.

To be on the safe side, some experts recommend not putting your cell phone or iPod in a shirt pocket over your pacemaker (if they are turned on). You may want to hold the cell phone up to the ear that’s opposite the site where your pacemaker was implanted. If you strap your iPod to your arm while listening to it, put it on the arm farthest from your pacemaker.

You can still use household appliances, but avoid close and prolonged exposure, as it may interfere with your pacemaker.

You can walk through security system metal detectors at your normal pace. You also can be checked with a metal detector wand as long as it isn't held for too long over your pacemaker site. You should avoid sitting or standing close to a security system metal detector.

Stay at least 2 feet away from industrial welders or electrical generators.

You also need to avoid some medical procedures that can disrupt your pacemaker. These procedures include:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (also called MRI)
• Shock-wave lithotripsy to get rid of kidney stones
• Electrocauterization to stop bleeding during surgery

Let all of your doctors, dentists, and medical technicians know that you have a pacemaker. You also should notify airport screeners. Your doctor can give you a card that states what kind of pacemaker you have. Carry this card in your wallet.

Physical Activity

In most cases, having a pacemaker won't limit you from doing sports and exercise, including strenuous activities. You may need to avoid full-contact sports, such as football. Such contact could damage your pacemaker or shake loose the wires in your heart. Ask your doctor how much and what kinds of physical activity are safe for you.

Followup

Your doctor will want to check your pacemaker regularly. Over time, a pacemaker can stop working properly because:

• Its wires get dislodged or broken
• Its battery fails
• Your heart disease progresses
• Devices giving off strong electrical, magnetic, or radio waves have disrupted its electrical signaling

To check your pacemaker, your doctor may ask you to come in for an office visit several times a year. Some pacemaker functions can be checked remotely through a telephone call or a computer connection to the Internet. Your doctor also may ask you to have an EKG (electrocardiogram) to monitor changes in the electrical activity of your heart.

Battery Replacement

Pacemaker batteries last between 5 and 15 years, depending on how active the pacemaker is. Your doctor will replace the generator along with the battery before the battery begins to run down.

Replacement of the generator/battery is a less involved surgery than the original surgery to implant the pacemaker. The wires of your pacemaker also may need to be replaced eventually. Your doctor can tell you whether you need to replace your pacemaker or its wires.