I am a 30 year old female. I have had an implanted cardiac pacemaker since March of 1993. I've been aware of the Y2K problem for awhile, but it only just hit me that I could be in big trouble having a pacemaker, which my cardiologist says I rely upon heavily. If you could give me some feedback as to some steps I should take, I would certainly appreciate a response. Thank you very much, A.L.

-- AL (active1@sprint.ca), July 05, 1998

Answers

I would think first off you need to call the cardiologist or the surgeon and find out the manufacturer of your pacemaker. Then you need to call the manufacturer and ask pointed questions about ANY date sensitive chips that might be in the pacemaker. Call Monday...better yet...page your cardiologist. If there is no date sensitive hardware in the pacemaker, you have risked nothing by asking.

-- Donna Barthuley (moment@pacbell.net), July 05, 1998.

A.L.: I am a physician employed with a large health care system with a very strong interest in y2k and impact on our system and our patients. If your pacemaker is made by Medtronic then there are no date sensitive chips in your unit. The interrogation and monitoring software put out by the company will need to be updated so I would contact your cardiologist and make sure they have upgraded. Hopes this helps. Stephen

-- Stephen Moore (stlmoore@aol.com), July 05, 1998.

Dr. Stephen,

Thanks for the information.

I guess the next question would be, "What if the pacemaker were made by some other manufacturer?" Are there others?

Is it possible to reply without putting yourself in legal difficulty?

If not, can you please just reply and tell us that you can't say more.

I'm sure that A.L. isn't the only pacemaker wearer who frequents this forum.

Thanks inb advance

DeAlton Lewis

-- DeAlton Lewis (delewis@inetone.net), July 06, 1998.