Real-time monitoring of an implantable cardiac device during taser device discharge

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Tucker D Pope, Emory University Hospital; Navjot Japra, Medtronic Corporation; Anand Shah, Emory University; Michael Lloyd, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-06-01
• Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrcr.2023.03.020
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: HeartRhythm Case Reports
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 420
• End Page: 422
• Keywords: Pacemaker; Oversensing; Electromagnetic interference; Electronic control devices; Taser
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Taser™ (Axon Enterprise, Inc, Seattle, WA) and other electronic control devices (ECD) are near-ubiquitous law enforcement tools that use darts fired from a handgun-shaped device to deliver an electrical shock to a human with the intention of nonlethal muscular tetany and incapacitation. A commonly used device discharges 2,000 volts in short pulses of around 0.110 ms at a frequency of 19–22 Hz, delivering a current of approximately 2.1 mA.1,2 To our knowledge, the real-time effects of ECD exposure on an implantable cardiac device (CIED) have not been described. Herein, we present our findings of simultaneous interrogation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker while being intentionally subjected to ECD discharge under the supervision of a physician as part of required training for law enforcement.