Heart devices affected by MP3 headphones

Magnetic interference from iPod headphones could pose a risk to patients with surgically implanted heart monitoring devices, according to a study involving 60 pacemaker and defibrillator patients.

Interference from MP3 player headphones could prove fatal by temporarily deactivating the device, and the research team says patients should keep headphones more than 3 cm away from their pacemaker or defibrillator.

"For family members or friends of patients with implantable defibrillators, they should avoid wearing headphones and resting their head on top of someone's device," says William Maisel, director of the medical device safety institute at the Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Patients should avoid keeping headphones in a chest pocket or draping them over the chest, he adds.