PubMed · 3178952
Pacemaker failure associated with therapeutic radiation.
Abstract
A 48-year-old white man with a multiprogrammable Intramedics 259-01 pacemaker was treated for inoperable lung cancer with a course of cobalt-60 radiotherapy (total 3,500 rad). Several weeks subsequent to his last radiation treatment, the patient presented to the emergency department with chest and abdominal pain, shortness of breath, hypotension, and tachycardia. A paced tachycardia was noted, and application of a magnet over the pacemaker completely inhibited its function, allowing a normal sinus rhythm to ensue and the patient's symptoms to be relieved. Pacemaker failure probably was a complication of radiotherapy.
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C Brooks, M Mutter. 1988. Pacemaker failure associated with therapeutic radiation.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0735-6757(88)90097-6
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