Life after pacemaker implantation: management of common problems and environmental interactions

Patients with permanent pacemakers have become an increasingly common clinical entity for physicians. Many patients who receive pacemakers are active people who leave the hospital expecting to return to fully functional, normal lives. These patients need to be aware of potential pacemaker interactions at work and in other environments. One location in which many patients with pacemakers find themselves is the hospital environment, which is host to an abundant array of diagnostic and therapeutic sources of electromagnetic interference that are capable of disrupting normal pacemaker function. Previous studies have addressed issues ranging from these patients' use of cellular telephones to the dangers of magnetic resonance imaging. This article reviews the medical literature on the management of patients with permanent pacemakers and the problems that these patients may encounter because of electromagnetic interference.