Interesting discussion. My brother and I have the same cardiac problem and we both have ICD's. He has a St. Jude ICD and I have a Medtronic. Last time I talked with him, not so long ago, he surprised me by saying his cardiologist/EP says "no problem welding". I was dumbstruck.
Is his ICD that different from mine, is the shielding different? That will take a bit of research, anybody can probably fetch the info on that question. I have a small high frequency welding unit from that outfit down in Tennessee, not sure of the name. They sell a 150 amp unit that puts out only DC and does a super welding job. My brother uses a Lincoln welder/generator around 225 amps.
He says he welds and gets no palpitations, etc. I could contact him and go into more detail about this situation whether his ICD is different from mine, etc. Let's face it, it's easy to chicken out when considering welding with a chest device being the main concern.
I think the docs and manufacturers KNOW precisely what the story is with welding and these devices. Yes, there are other considerations like presence of atrial fibrillation, etc and perhaps even potassium levels in the myocardium.
Yes, there are answers to these questions, it's just that we must do some digging and YES, use the buddy system when welding.
Is his ICD that different from mine, is the shielding different? That will take a bit of research, anybody can probably fetch the info on that question. I have a small high frequency welding unit from that outfit down in Tennessee, not sure of the name. They sell a 150 amp unit that puts out only DC and does a super welding job. My brother uses a Lincoln welder/generator around 225 amps.
He says he welds and gets no palpitations, etc. I could contact him and go into more detail about this situation whether his ICD is different from mine, etc. Let's face it, it's easy to chicken out when considering welding with a chest device being the main concern.
I think the docs and manufacturers KNOW precisely what the story is with welding and these devices. Yes, there are other considerations like presence of atrial fibrillation, etc and perhaps even potassium levels in the myocardium.
Yes, there are answers to these questions, it's just that we must do some digging and YES, use the buddy system when welding.
