Machinist

I am having an ICD implant done soon and am wondering if it will be safe to work in a machine shop using lathes, milling machines and CNC's ? I would think this would fall into Industrial tools which use large electrical motors to run them. If someone would respond to this would be very helpfull.
thanks
yamahacreeker

4 Comments

Which ICD Do You Have

by Juan - 2011-03-11 02:03:20

Which ICD do you have. At the beginning ICD meant only a defibrillator but in recent years doctors and patients are also referring to pacemakers as an ICD.

ICD - Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. (defibrillator)

ICD - Implantable Cardiac Device. (pacemaker)

Magnetic Fields

by donr - 2011-03-11 08:03:58

We've had three or four threads on this in the recent past.

Electro magnetic fields should not be strong enough to affect your PM/ICD. Unless, of course, you walk up & hug a great, big DC motor w/ whopping permanent magnets in it.

One thing I would avoid, however - you know those big, ol' honkin' vises you clamp on the steel work surfaces of the machines to hold work while you machine it? A lot of them have magnetic hold downs. Don't pick them up & get them any closer than about 6" from a PM. Now, THAT just might affect it. Nothing permanent. The only way to truly find out is to go in to work & see how your ICD reacts. It will tell you quickly enough. That was the advice my Cardio gave me when I asked the equivalent question a few yrs ago.

You are not talking fields from any voltages beyond what is normal to an industrial setting - 440V, I'd imagine. You didn't say what you did - machine operator? Millwright? Electrician? That all makes a big difference in your exposure to magnetic fields. As an electrician, you'd probably be getting closer to energized cables, the sources of most mag fields.

Don

machinist

by zapper - 2011-03-11 10:03:28

I've had my ICD since Jan 2007. I am a refrigeration, AC and heating mechanic. I work with and around alot of power tools, large compressors, motors and high voltage systems. I have never had a problem or a strange reading when the device is checked which is once weekly on my interogation machine at my house and every 6 months at my EP.

EMF

by J.B. - 2011-03-11 11:03:13

If the electromagnetic field created by any of the machines is strong enough to interfere with your pacemaker it will feel like an irregular heart beat. If that occurs move to some distance, say 5 to 10 feet away from the suspected source and your heart rate should return to normal in a few seconds and no harm will have been done to you or your pacemaker. Just watch for the irregular heart beat as a sign as you will feel it. For me it felt like a hand full of butterflys has been turned lose in my chest.

While it is possible for a really strong EMF to permanently change the pacemaker settings, that is extremely rare. If that should happen your doctor can reset your pacemaker and no harm will be done to the pacemaker.

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I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for pacemakers. I've had mine for 35+ years. I was fainting all of the time and had flat-lined also. I feel very blessed to live in this time of technology.