Pacemaker and high voltage

[Phil]

Just had a pacemaker cut in to fix my bradycardia. Can I work on high voltage lines or is this going to end my career as a lineman?

[Trbl639]

Not positive about this, but worked with a hand that was a Tman, that had one..only time he had trouble with it was if he was in the 500 yard...........after a few years with it, he moved up to supervision.....

[topgroove]

Just had a pacemaker cut in to fix my bradycardia. Can I work on high voltage lines or is this going to end my career as a lineman? Very few studies have been conducted on this, but depending on the sencing mode, some pacemakers are effected while in unipolar sencing mode. no problems were observed while in Bipolar mode. Here's a link...

http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/45/6/896

[Phil]

Topgroove thanks for the link. Phil

[topgroove]

Hey Good luck with everything:) I really mean that. the way things are going we're all going to have to work alot longer than we thought. My quick google search of the subject only scratched the surface. Take care!

[wtdoor67]

an accident once where the man who was injured actually had a pace maker. The crew didn't realize it until they did CPR on him. Some of the speculation actually was that the pace maker saved his heart from fibrilating.

However he was on distributions voltages.

[Phil]

wtdoor67: Our distribution voltage is 7200/12470 with 69,000 and 115,00 transmission. Phil

[wtdoor67]

Check your PM's.

[Phil]

wtdoor67: My computer skills suck. How do you reply to a PM?

[electriklady]

Phil, go to the top of the page where it welcomes you when you sign in and click on Private Messages........takes you to the screen and you click on the message....once you read it at the bottom of the message it will say forward or reply...........if you wanna reply just go to the bottom of the other persons message and and click and start typing underneath it.

If ya wanna send a personal message on your own just right click on someones nickname and it will give you a drop down list and one of the options is to "send whoever a personal message" just click on that


hope that helps:)

[Phil]

Electriklady: Thanks for the advice. I just found out from my cardiologest that high voltage will not effect the pacemaker.

[electriklady]

Glad to hear that.......Bradycardia huh? I suffer from the opposite....tachycardia, due to mitralvalve prolapse,,,,, while I dont deal with high voltages it does present problems at times.......when I have a full fledged attack I am short of breath and dizzy my left arm goes numb and have chest pains. I have often wondered if I had a contact of any kind how it would affect my heart.....The company has hauled me away by ambulance in the past......I think they were afraid I was havin "the big one".....and have to admit it does go through my mind at times.....it is kind of a scary thing to live with......my heartbeat has gone up to 150-180 beats a minute at rest at times and I do wonder how long my heart can sustain that high of a rate. I have had it last for hours. The heart is one thing ya dont like malfunctioning on ya, at home or at work.:( Hope the pacemaker does the job for ya!:)

[Phil]

I have a friend that has tachycardia. He is still logging, but has discribed some of the same situations you just mentioned. Hang in there! Phil