DISCLAIMER:  The following is not meant to be medical advice.  It’s just the musings of an old time HF ham.

After receiving a cardiac pacemaker, many hospital “discharge instructions” will caution against exposure to “ham radio” transmitters.

So far as I know, modern pacemakers are highly resistant to the magnetic fields and RF radiation that we are constantly exposed to in our daily lives.  Older models might be more susceptible.

Of course, some industrial machinery or other devices emit strong RF or Magnetic fields and these should be avoided.  There is a lot of information about this on the internet and in certain blogs.  Much of it is wrong.

In my case I received a Biotronik pacemaker in August, 2024 and the hospital discharge instructions listed “ham radio” as something to avoid.

I went to the Biotronik website and found that a table of RF exposure was buried several levels deep within it.  I have replicated the table below for your convenience.  Our ham radio hobby seems secure if certain distance precautions are taken.

Remember, this is RF exposure, not for strong magnetic fields created by certain industrial equipment such as welders, etc., but it does pertain to our Ham Radio hobby.

And this is the Biotronik exposure table – other brands might have different limits, and older units might not be as well shielded, so do your research.

If you have another brand, go to that manufacturer’s website and research there to find a table of RF exposure limits.

So make certain your kilowatt+ xmtr is very well shielded and grounded and that the antenna is not present in the shack if you run significant wattage.  If the fluorescent lamps in your shack light up every time you key the transmitter, the xmtr is not shielded!

The table below, of Biotronik Cardiac Pacemaker RF Exposure Distance Recommendations was extracted from the Biotronik Website in July, 2024.  The distances shown are from the pacemaker to the radiating antenna.  Inch and foot distances are rounded by me.  These are Output Power measurements, not Input Power.

<3 Watt, 15cm, 150mm, 6 inches
3 – 15 Watt, 30 cm, 300mm, 12 inches
15 – 30 Watt, 60cm, 600mm, 24 inches
30 – 50 Watt, 1 meter, 1000cm, 40 inches
50 – 125 Watt, 2 meters, 2000cm, 7 feet
125 – 250 Watt, 3 meters, 3000cm, 10 feet
250 – 500 Watt, 5 meters, 5000cm, 17 feet
500 – 1000 Watt, 6 meters, 6000cm, 20 feet
1000 – 2000 Watt, 9 meters, 9000cm, 30 feet