title: Management of radiation oncology patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers: report of AAPM Task Group No. 34. American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
abstract: Contemporary cardiac pacemakers can fail from radiation damage at doses as low as 10 gray and can exhibit functional changes at doses as low as 2 gray. A review and discussion of this potential problem is presented and a protocol is offered that suggests that radiation therapy patients with implanted pacemakers be planned so as to limit accumulated dose to the pacemaker to 2 gray. Although certain levels and types of electromagnetic interference can cause pacemaker malfunction, there is evidence that this is not a serious problem around most contemporary radiation therapy equipment.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Therapy and Research Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Marbach
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sontag
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Dyk
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Wolbarst
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields / Q000009:adverse effects; D004868:Equipment Failure; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011836:Radiation Tolerance; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage