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Review
. 2012 Jun;35(6):321-8.
doi: 10.1002/clc.21997. Epub 2012 Apr 26.

Electromagnetic interference and implanted cardiac devices: the medical environment (part II)

Juna Misiri  1 , Fred Kusumoto, Nora Goldschlager
Affiliations
Review

Electromagnetic interference and implanted cardiac devices: the medical environment (part II)

Juna Misiri et al. Clin Cardiol. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Electromagnetic interference produced by medical equipment can interact with implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. The most commonly observed interaction is in the operating room with electrosurgery. The risk of interactions can often be mitigated by close communication between the cardiac-device specialist and the anesthesiology/surgical team to develop a patient-specific strategy that accounts for factors such as type of device, type of surgery, and whether the patient is pacemaker dependent. Although magnetic resonance imaging should generally not be used in patients with implanted cardiac devices, several published guidelines provide strategies and recommendations for managing risks if magnetic resonance imaging is required with no suitable diagnostic alternatives. Other common sources of electromagnetic interference in the medical environment are ionizing radiation and left ventricular assist devices.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Atrial electrograms during electrosurgery used for contralateral shoulder surgery. During electrosurgery, atrial sensing of EMI (*) and intrinsic atrial activity (arrows) is observed. Abbreviations: AS, atrial sensing; EMI, electromagnetic interference.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Immediately after external cardioversion, loss of capture (*) and sensing is present. After 3 minutes, sensing returns first, followed by ventricular capture. Abbreviations: CV, cardioversion; S, sensing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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