High-power electric vehicle chargers safe for people with pacemakers, defibrillators
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Key takeaways:
- Data show no clinically relevant electromagnetic interference for people with pacemakers using high-powered chargers for electric vehicles.
- Researchers advise people with cardiac IEDs to still take precautions.
High-powered chargers for electric vehicles are safe for people with implantable cardiac devices, with no evidence of clinically relevant electromagnetic interference, researchers reported.
High-power charging stations for electric cars have the potential to create strong electromagnetic fields and cause electromagnetic interference in pacemakers and defibrillators, leading them to malfunction, according to Carsten Lennerz, MD, consultant cardiologist at the German Heart Centre Munich. As Healio previously reported, researchers have also studied the risk for electromagnetic interference with cardiac devices while driving electric cars and found that the largest electromagnetic field was located along the charging cable.
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“The use of high-power chargers for patients with pacemakers or defibrillators is safe,” Carsten Lennerz, MD, consultant cardiologist at the German Heart Centre Munich, told Healio. “Restrictions for their use should not be placed. Patients with pacemakers or defibrillators do not need to worry to drive or to charge any battery electric car.”
Lennerz and colleagues analyzed data from 130 patients with cardiac IEDs who performed 561 charges of four battery electric vehicles and a test vehicle with a 350-kW charge capacity, all using high-power charging stations while under continuous 6-lead ECG monitoring.
The charging cable was placed directly over the cardiac IED, and devices were programmed to maximize the chance of electromagnetic interference (EMI) detection. Researchers then assessed the IEDs after participants charged all EVs and the test vehicle for evidence of EMI.
The findings were presented at the European Heart Rhythm Association annual congress and simultaneously published in EP EuroPace.
There were no incidences of EMI, specifically no over-sensing, pacing inhibition, inappropriate tachycardia detection, mode switching, or spontaneous reprogramming, according to the researchers.
In a participant-based analysis, risk for EMI was 0/130 (95% CI, 0-2) and the risk for EMI in a charge-based analysis was 0/561 (95% CI, 0-0.6). The effective magnetic field along the charging cable was 38.65 µT and at the charging station was 77.9 µT.
Lennerz noted that the study focused on high power charging technology rather than home chargers.
“Home chargers use a smaller current, but AC generates a different magnetic field than DC,” Lennerz said in a press release. “Home charging is likely safe with sensible precautions, such as not staying next to the charging cable for extended periods of time.”
The researchers recommended that, while risk is likely low, people with cardiac IEDs should not place a charging cable directly over the cardiac device to maintain distance from the charging elements.
“All-electric mobility is gaining popularity and the technology is evolving very fast,” Lennerz told Healio. “With further developments and innovations, a potential relevant risk for EMI must be re-assessed.”
Reference:
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Lennerz C, et al. Moderated ePosters 3. Presented at: EHRA: The Annual Congress of the European Heart Rhythm Association; April 16-18, 2023; Barcelona, Spain.
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