Author: admin

Two articles have been published recently as ‘letters to the editor’ in Heart Rhythm online, about the effect of the newly released iPhone 12 on the function of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED), if it is held close to a device. In one article, Greenberg et al.¹ first reported inhibition of tachycardia therapy of a Medtronic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) when iPhone 12 was kept close to the device. In the second article, Patterson et al.² compared the effect of iPhone 12 and iPhone XS on CIED of different types and models from different manufactures. The authors of these articles have now conclusively documented that the newly released iPhone 12 can interfere with the function of CIED significantly. iPhone 12 temporarily but consistently inhibited detection of tachyarrhythmia, and hence delivery of appropriate therapy in some models of ICD/cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillator. In case of pacemakers, one model (Assurity DR, Abbott) went into asynchronous mode when iPhone 12 was held close to the device. This has caused a huge stir among the cardiologists, common people, and patients with CIED. The overwhelming question now is whether this is going to be a significant public health issue

EP Europace, Volume 24, Issue 2, February 2022, Pages 179–180, https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euab159