The Effects of Infrared Heaters on Pacemakers

How a Pacemaker Works

• Understanding how a pacemaker works helps you comprehend the risks inherent with infrared heat. Pacemakers are battery-powered, and they contain a small generator and several electrodes. The generator has a computer in it that receives information from the electrodes connected to the heart. The computer uses that information to send electrical current via the generator back through the electrodes to keep a steady heartbeat and to correct any abnormal heart activity. More modern versions also monitor respiratory rate, body temperature and blood pressure; they alter the heart rate in response to your current activity level based on those readings. Anything that affects those readings therefore affects the pacemaker.

Benefits of Infared Heating

• Infrared heating helps relax the muscles and the body in general. This helps lower blood pressure and lower your heart rate. Anything that is good for your heart is also good for the pacemaker that currently powers it. Moderation is key in achieving these benefits, however, because too much heat in too short a time span puts your body under undue stress. Just as anything that relaxes the body can benefit the pacemaker because it doesn't need to work as hard, anything that places the body under stress has the potential to overload or damage the pacemaker as it tries to adjust to the new conditions.

Dangers Regarding Pacemakers

• Excessive infrared heat raises your body temperature, and your heart starts beating differently in response. The pacemaker can't determine what is causing these changes; it just adapts to what those conditions are. As a result, it can overcompensate or react in a way that causes damage to the heart itself. It also may malfunction during this reaction, increasing the risk of cardiac arrest. Much like too much exercise can harm an already damaged heart, too much infrared heat runs a similar risk, and the pacemaker may not be able to compensate for the heart's response.

Other Considerations

• Infrared heat may cause your body to react negatively to heart medication or other pharmaceuticals. Consult your doctor before using a sauna or any other infrared heating device and follow a doctor's guidelines regarding usage to maximize the benefits and to minimize the risk. Drink water when using infrared heat because excessive sweating leads to dehydration. That can strain your heart and pacemaker.