Collecting fridge magnets is a fairly popular hobby. These small decorations at-tach a bright festive look to a boring food storage and perfectly complement the kitchen decor. However, as Swiss scientists have found out, this hobby is fraught with great danger. The field produced by household magnets affects the operation of pacemakers.
Ordinary iron or ferrite magnets – they are easily distinguished by their dull gray color – have little strength and practically do not cause specialists’ con-cern. But strong magnets made of an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron can have a negative impact on the health of people with the cardiovascular prob-lems.
According to experts, to destabilize electronic heart devices, it is enough for a neodymium magnet to be located within a radius of about 3 centimeters.
In an experiment conducted in a clinic of Zurich, the effect of neodymium mag-nets was analyzed on 70 cardiac patients. 41 of these people had electronic heart stimulators, and the remaining 29 had heart defibrillators implanted.
When small eight-gram magnets were placed at a distance of 3 cm or closer, any heart device, regardless of a model and manufacturer, began to fail.
Scientists are concerned about the results of the study. Today, magnets are used everywhere and manufacturers do not bother to warn their consumers about the possible risk. But it is enough for a person using a pacemaker just to go by public transport at rush hour, and close contact with the sources of danger is provided for him.
Doctors recommended, as in the case of selling cigarettes, on the packaging to indicate information about the potential risk of magnets for the health of people with implanted cardiopulmonary devices.
Scientists are concerned about the results of the study. Today, magnets are used everywhere and manufacturers do not bother to warn their consumers about the possible risk. But it is enough for a person using a pacemaker just to go by public transport at rush hour, and close contact with the sources of danger is provided for him.
Doctors recommended, as in the case of selling cigarettes, on the packaging to indicate information about the potential risk of magnets for the health of people with implanted cardiopulmonary devices.
