pacemakers

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Tiny, Dissolvable Pacemaker Could 'Save Countless Lives'

Injectable device designed to combat heart defects in newborns

(Newser) - The average pacemaker is about the size of a walnut. But one created specifically for babies, announced by Northwestern University scientists, is far smaller—smaller, even, than a grain of rice, CBS News reports. Described as "the world's smallest pacemaker," the revolutionary device works in conjunction with...

Schwarzenegger Is a 'Little Bit More of a Machine'

'Terminator' star had pacemaker fitted last week

(Newser) - Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger says he "became a little bit more of a machine" with heart surgery last week. On his " Arnold's Pump Club " podcast Monday, the former California governor revealed that he had a pacemaker fitted and is "doing great," CNN reports. "...

Front-Runner Gets Pacemaker as He Awaits Results

John Fetterman, seeking Democratic Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, had a stroke days ago

(Newser) - On the day Pennsylvania Democratic voters going to the polls to decide whether to nominate him for the US Senate, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman had an appointment elsewhere. The front-runner in the primary had a pacemaker with defibrillator installed, Politico reports, days after he suffered a stroke . Fetterman's campaign...

Mike Pence Receives a Pacemaker
Mike Pence
Gets Pacemaker
Apr 15, 2021 3:38 PM CDT

Mike Pence Gets Pacemaker

Former VP had a slow heart rate

(Newser) - Former VP Mike Pence is recovering from a Wednesday surgery in which he had a pacemaker installed, reports the Indianapolis Star . The 61-year-old's office says Pence had been experiencing "symptoms associated with a slow heart rate" over the past two weeks, necessitating the procedure at Inova Fairfax Medical...

465K People With Pacemakers Need Security Update

The FDA announces what is basically a recall

(Newser) - Is it a recall? Is it a software update? Well, it's actually both. Abbott, the medical device company that produces implantable cardiac pacemakers under the St. Jude’s Medical brand, has issued a "corrective action," per the Food and Drug Administration , to mitigate what it calls the...

Man's Pacemaker Data May Sink Him in Court

Judge rules it can be present in Ohio arson case

(Newser) - A judge in Ohio has decided that data from the pacemaker of a man accused of setting his Ohio house on fire in 2016 can be presented as evidence at his trial, reports the AP . The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports that the judge ruled Tuesday in Ross Compton's case...

Man Charged in Burning His Home Busted by Pacemaker

Ross Compton's story 'highly improbable' due to his medical conditions: cardiologist

(Newser) - A man charged with arson based partly on data collected from his pacemaker pleaded not guilty Tuesday to setting his Ohio home on fire and insurance fraud charges, the AP reports. Authorities have said gasoline was found on Ross Compton's clothing and that the fire started in multiple places,...

Gene Injection Gives Pigs 'Biological Pacemakers'

Heart cells were reprogrammed to beat normally

(Newser) - A promising experiment on pigs could help save the bacon of people with heart trouble who are having problems with electronic pacemakers. Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute injected genes into the hearts of pigs with irregular heartbeats, reprogramming regular heart cells into pacemaker cells that temporarily restored a normal...

Vatican: Pope Hit His Head in Mexico

Also, he has a pacemaker

(Newser) - Did Pope Benedict resign in a dazed concussion haze? Probably not, but the Vatican revealed today that his holiness whacked his noggin pretty good during his March 2012 Mexico trip , the AP reports. The admission followed an Italian newspaper report saying that while getting up in the middle of the...

To Help Obese Lose Weight, a Stomach Pacemaker?

Device tricks brain into thinking stomach is full

(Newser) - An appetite-curbing stomach pacemaker that helps obese people lose weight is on sale in Europe after passing clinical trials and its makers hope to offer in the US within a few years. The surgically implanted device sends out electrical pulses designed to trick the brain into believing the body is...

You Heard? Headphones, Pacemakers Don't Jibe

Headsets may interfere with heart devices

(Newser) - Headphones used with digital music players may interfere with pacemakers and internal defibrillators, scientists discovered in research contradicting reports from the US government. “Exposure of a defibrillator to the headphones can temporarily deactivate the defibrillator,” the lead researcher said. Draping the headphones over the chest caused hindrance in...

iPods OK for Pacemaker Patients, Study Says

Contradicts two reports from last year

(Newser) - Heart patients who have both pacemakers and iPods can rest easy: The music devices don't affect the cardiac ones, reports Reuters. Two studies published last year suggested that iPods created electrical interference, but a new report by a team of FDA researchers concludes, “No interference effects can occur in...

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