Management of radiation oncology patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers: report of AAPM Task Group No. 34. American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
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.
Marbach
J R
JR
Cancer Therapy and Research Center, San Antonio, Texas 78229.
Sontag
M R
MR
Van Dyk
J
J
Wolbarst
A B
AB
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