B) Patient with an ICD delivering inappropriate shocks
Cardiac magnets are typically kept in ED resuscitation bays for use in select emergencies involving implanted cardiac devices. A cardiac magnet will inactivate an ICD’s antiarrhythmic capabilities (which would be bad if the patient were in ventricular fibrillation and needed a shock). Cardiac magnets affect the reed switch of pacemakers, causing them to default to an asynchronous fixed rate (turns off sensing). This can be helpful in a pacemaker that is oversensing.
January 27, 2023 at 4:26 pm
B) Patient with an ICD delivering inappropriate shocks
Cardiac magnets are typically kept in ED resuscitation bays for use in select emergencies involving implanted cardiac devices. A cardiac magnet will inactivate an ICD’s antiarrhythmic capabilities (which would be bad if the patient were in ventricular fibrillation and needed a shock). Cardiac magnets affect the reed switch of pacemakers, causing them to default to an asynchronous fixed rate (turns off sensing). This can be helpful in a pacemaker that is oversensing.