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Updated: Jan 20, 2026
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Method for Recording Broadband High Resolution Emission Spectra of Laboratory Lightning Arcs
Published on: August 27, 2019
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Lightning-induced pacing system malfunction: a case report
Bogdan Obszański1, Łukasz Tułecki2, Andrzej Kutarski3
1Department of Cardiology, The Pope John Paul II Province Hospital of Zamosc, Al. Jana Pawla II nr 10, Zamosc, Poland.
European Heart Journal. Case Reports
|August 27, 2019
Summary
Lightning strikes can cause permanent pacemaker dysfunction. This case report details a patient experiencing pacing failure after a lightning strike, likely due to electrical burns affecting the pacemaker system.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Electrophysiology
- Medical Device Technology
Background:
- Atmospheric electrical discharge, like lightning, poses significant risks to human health.
- The impact of lightning-induced electrical currents on pacemaker function remains largely uninvestigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a rare case of permanent pacemaker dysfunction following a lightning strike.
- To investigate the potential mechanisms of lightning-induced pacemaker failure.
Main Methods:
- A case study of an 80-year-old patient with a DDD pacemaker struck by lightning.
- Analysis of electrocardiogram (ECG) findings, pacemaker interrogation data, and evaluation of the explanted pacing system.
Main Results:
- The patient developed recurrent pacing-induced tachycardia and high pacing thresholds post-lightning strike.
- Pacemaker interrogation revealed atrial channel pacing failure, indicating a significant malfunction.
- The explanted pacemaker system was sent for detailed analysis to Biotronik.
Conclusions:
- Lightning strikes can cause severe, permanent damage to implanted pacemaker systems.
- Electrical burns at the endocardial-electrode interface are the probable cause of pacing threshold elevation and transient pacing failure.
- This case highlights the critical vulnerability of pacemakers to extreme electrical events like lightning strikes.
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