Study: iPods May Interfere with Pacemakers

We won't be buying our Nana a nano anytime soon. Truth be told, we weren't planning on it, but a study initiated by a 17-year-old found that iPods held close to the chest cause cardiac implantable pacemakers to malfunction.

The study took place at the Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute at Michigan State University and tested the effect of the MP3 player on 100 patients with a mean age of 77. The iPods caused interference half the time when they were held two inches from the chest for five to 10 seconds.

A few times, an iPod interfered with the telemetry equipment, causing the device to misread the heart's pacing, when it was held 18 inches from the chest, Reuters reports. In one case, a pacemaker stopped functioning altogether. The study's lead University of Michigan cardiologist notes that most pacemaker patients likely do not use iPods, but he said it does warrant more study. No other MP3 players were tested.

The story behind the study is as interesting as the study itself. Jay Thaker, a 17-year-old Michigan high school student, wondered if iPods affected pacemakers. He and his dad, an electrophysiologist, searched for studies and didn't find any. So the elder Thaker put his son in contact with cardiologists in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan, and the study was undertaken.

Thaker, who presented the findings at the Heart Rhythm Society annual meeting in Denver, says he wants to study the effect of iPods on implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

LINK: Study: iPods can make pacemakers malfunction [CNN/Reuters]