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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Airbags and implanted devices in hearts.
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Airbags and implanted devices in hearts.
by Lisa__0__0, Jun 13, 1998 12:00AM
I am due to receive a pacemaker on June 18th, and began to wonder. With all
the controversy surrounding airbags, I wonder if they are safe to be on for
my family. Besides the pacemaker, my 8 year old has cardioseals in her
heart to correct VSD's and my husband has stents to keep his bypassed open.
Would the force of the air bag dislodge or cause damage to our hearts?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF CARDIO MD APS, Jun 13, 1998 12:00AM
_
Dear Lisa,
Air bags save lives and regardless of the small possibility of damage to your son's implants so to speak, if he is not alive it is a moot point; almost any device that is implanted
in a human can be repaired and or reinserted if necessary. The chance that your son's life will be saved by the airbag is much greater than the liklihood of his being killed by the airbag. This of course is
taking in to consideration that you are following the manufacturers' instructions regarding the safety belt, such as the absolute neccesity of wearing a seat belt, the fact that children under a certain age should not sit in the front seat let alone
be exposed to the potential dangers that an airbag would impose on their small frames. Certainly, your husband should use an airbag as this has never been shown to dislodge a stent in the coronary arteries, which do not move once placed at the time of angioplasty
because the body kind of locks them in place. Information provided in the Heart
Forum is intended for general medical informational purposes only actual diagnosis and treatment can only be made by your physician(s).
