Originally Posted by
machotspur
Yes - after a couple of years of blindly obeying the instructions from the medics I asked some more questions. I understand that the risk of any damage to the ICD from the gates is minimal.
The main reason to avoid the gate is that in the event of a cardiac problem whilst I am walking through the gate the ICD wouldn't activate. The magnetism freezes it for a while. (In fact whenever I have any medical procedure under general anaesthetic the ICD is 'turned off' by taping what looks like a kids magnet to my chest !)
My understanding (more questions at my next check up !) is that the hand scanner does not bring the same risk.
The other reason is that the presence of a box of electronics in my chest is likely to activate the scanner, necessitating a hand search/secondary scan, so its best to go for this in the first place.
I had an ICD fitted earlier this year - here is the advice I was given:
The regular metal detector archways - you should ideally flash your ICD/Pacemaker card and ask for a pat down by hand (walking around the archway) - however if you do walk through at a normal/brisk pace and do not linger, there is actually very little risk of damage or interference to your ICD as the magnetic force is relatively weak and your exposure is typically very brief.
The handheld wand scanners should be avoided - or if one is used you should definitely request that the wand is not brought over your ICD site - and certainly not held there for any length of time. These wands can interfere with and briefly disable your ICD as they do use stronger magnetic forces. The effect should only be temporary however, just like using your special "donut" magnet to disable the ICD in an emergency.
The full body scanners are actually ICD-safe - and my device manufacturer specifically (St Jude) has confirmed this. Whether that is the case for all types I don't know, however I cannot see why they would not be as the technology in most ICD is fundamentally the same. Several airports that use full body scanners (both British and US, I believe) have posted information that these scanners are safe for people with ICDs and Pacemakers and I imagine (given today's litigious culture) they would not state that unless they were pretty sure.