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.
Denne historien er fra April 02, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra April 02, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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.
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.
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.
When trees hold hands
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Ms Gee & Gen Z
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Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
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
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.
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.
