SMARTWATCHES COULD INTERFERE WITH PACEMAKERS
THE WEEK India|April 02, 2023
SMARTWATCHES and fitness trackers can interfere with implantable cardiac devices.
SMARTWATCHES COULD INTERFERE WITH PACEMAKERS

According to a US study published in the journal Heart Rhythm, electronic fitness gadgets such as smartwatches, rings and scales emit electrical currents that can interfere with cardiac implantable electronic devices such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation therapy devices, and cause them to malfunction.

Many of these fitness gadgets use bioimpedance, a sensing technology that emits a very slight, imperceptible current of electricity into the body so a sensor can determine a person's body composition, such as muscle mass or fat mass, or level of stress. Even slight electrical currents from these gadgets can interfere with the proper functioning of cardiac implantable devices.

For instance, pacemakers send small electrical impulses to the heart when it is beating too slowly. "The bioimpedance's tiny electrical current could trick the heart into thinking it is beating fast enough, preventing the pacemaker from doing its job when it is supposed to. If the pacemaker gets confused by interference, it could stop working during the duration that it is confused. If that interference is for a prolonged time, the patient could pass out or worse," said the study author.

The level of interference was greater with smartwatches than with smart rings and smart scales.

A PILL TO CURB BINGE DRINKING?

TAKING A PILL before consuming alcohol can help curb binge drinking, according to findings of a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The drug, naltrexone, is already being used to treat people with severe alcohol disorders.

この記事は THE WEEK India の April 02, 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は THE WEEK India の April 02, 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

THE WEEK INDIAのその他の記事すべて表示
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 分  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 分  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 分  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 分  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 分  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 分  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 分  |
December 08, 2024