Seat Belt use for implanted device patients

Information about seat belt use by patients with implanted medical devices including pacemakers, ICDs, CRTs and ILRs.
*****Please Note: I am not a medical professional giving medical advice. For further information please consult your physician or your device manufacturer's Patient Services team.
For more information on the Soft Touch product: www.aboutsofttouch.com/
To watch a video of crash testing with improper seat belt use:
www.carsales.com.au/editorial...

[@robbarasch6472]

I got my device a week ago and haven't driven yet. I gotta say, it never occurred to me that my seat belt could hurt when I drive. Thanks for the heads up and potential solutions.

[@rumidas7521]

Today my 87 year grandma is undergoing a pacemaker implemention..... These vdos will be very helpful for my entire family in taking care of her.. Thank you.

[@straubdavid9]

When I first got a defib (2014) I got two of those Soft Touch doodads. I wore one for about two weeks or less, then skuttled it. I've not looked back. It was more trouble than it was worth .... for me. However, I do still have the 2nd one that was never used, which I will take to the hospital, so it can be given away to someone that would really benefit from it. They are supposedly good for mastectomies, chemotherapy ports, and other medical conditions. Take care👍🏻👍🏻✌🏻✌🏻

[@TheCream14]

Just had a pacemaker installed. Your videos are SO helpful. Thanks so much!

[@bethwert2606]

I am having one implanted soon and am enjoying learning about the tips and tricks I will need. So thanks for making these vidoes.

[@CyborgVlog]

I had sensitivity around my pacemaker for a few months after it was implanted, and that made the seat belt uncomfortable. I used things like sweatshirts, and even a small stuffed animal my daughter left in the car. It's been almost two years, and now I don't have any seat belt sensitivity. Thanks for the video, it will be helpful to others with implants.

[@IHaveBadWiFiBro]

hi, have you had the same pacemaker in since then? Does it feel like it's annoying or are you use to it now? I just got mine a week ago and I've been going crazy lol

[@CyborgVlog]

@@IHaveBadWiFiBro It will get a little better each week. After a few months it will be fine. I don’t even remember it is there sometimes now. I talk about it on my channel. kzbin.info

[@christanniehawkins-barthel5041]

Thank you all so much for the tips. My husband has an appointment tomorrow for an implantation and I’m just here researching, learning new things and this is something we didn’t know about. Thanks a million. Happy Holidays, Stay Safe🙏🏽❤️.

[@DouglasRachac]

My pleasure! Happy Holidays to you too, and good luck on today's implant. It's a super common procedure, so I'm sure your husband is in good hands.

[@mohamedmansoorhallajmohame8120]

Thank you so much for your information brother.

[@josephguzman3824]

Thanks for your tips about it seat belt, I already have a loop recorder and I don’t know how going to use the seatbelt,thanks a lot!!

[@en53kff]

I hadn't even given this subject a thought and yet I get my implant tomorrow. Reckon I'll take a towel in the car to help with discomfort until I think I may need a more permanent solution. Thanks for the advice Doug.

[@DouglasRachac]

It’s possible that you’ll only need that towel for a few weeks. The seatbelt may not give you a problem after a few weeks. Best of luck tomorrow!

[@janetmccullough7436]

Thanks for the video. Very helpful for a “new implant” patient.

[@TrishaTexas1]

Thanks Doug! I always appreciate your videos and information!

[@user-mb8ze6no3k]

Thank you for the balanced, sensible advice.

[@monicapruette9622]

Thanks for the video, friend. My husband is getting a pacemaker this week and I’m trying to be as prepared as possible to help him be comfortable and safe. These videos help bc a lot of this stuff is an afterthought. 👍

[@CatherineBenzinger]

Thanks for your videos, Doug!

[@nagibmalouf7810]

You have lots of ideas, and very clear instructions. Great information. Thank you.

[@GammerThumbs]

Good advice! Thanks Doug.

[@k9builder]

I like the idea, but I ended making something with part of a swimming pool noodle and an existing seatbelt pad. It worked.

[@Windhowlingg]

I'm gonna try this 🙏😌

[@ainaaipa5810]

As a new Patient this was very helpful info! Thank You 🙏🏽

[@bunnystuff2005]

Thank you for your help, much appreciated.

[@lindathompson4770]

Thank you so much! 💖 I'll possibly be getting an ICD and planning ahead as much as I can. I hadn't thought of the seatbelt... yet!

[@TheForbinone]

Thanks for this, in the UK as a driver the belt goes top right to left so only an issue when i'm a passenger. Still valuable research. Again, Appreciated.

[@lindaspinelli3855]

Thank you for your videos!

[@lynnware9202]

Very helpful and informative. Thank you!

[@themuilover]

Excellent video. I was wondering what I was going to do after I get an ICD next month. Thanks!

[@marywood8241]

Thank you for sharing this! Its very helpful.

[@dennisoberry7569]

Helped me greatly! Thanks.

[@maryamoutzouris7390]

Excellent, thank you!

[@nokulungabuthelezi5192]

Its so helpful thank you so much

[@scqban]

Thank you

[@mohammedali808]

Great information. Thank you.

[@nagibmalouf7810]

Great advices Thank you.

[@tempusfugitivemedia]

One solution, geared more toward the comfort aspect, is to take a clothespin and clip it on the seat belt, placing it where it exits the retractor, leaving a very small amount of slack which will prevent the belt from feeling tight across your chest. In an accident, the belt will still restrain you and for vehicles with pyrotechnic, electrical or kinetic seat belt pretensioners, the clothes pin will slip down the belt when the retractor reels the belt in during an accident. If a prospective pacemaker candidate is very concerned about the pacemaker becoming damaged, is to speak with your physician about having the pacemaker placed on the right side of your chest, instead of the left.

[@DouglasRachac]

That’s a great idea. I have seen people use chip clips the same way. Just don’t pull the seat belt out more than a few centimeters. That’s all you need to create enough slack to make it comfortable.

[@ronkeokusanya480]

Thank you for this very useful video. 👌🏿

[@irishrose7053]

Aah Thank you. I'm still healing from my device surgery.

[@nateroberts8441]

Thank you for this information I really appreciate it 🙏

[@nateroberts8441]

I recently had my loop recorder fitted and the first week was pain the I got use to it still waking up in the night sweating and shaking but the pain is gone

[@Sternschnuppen85]

Great tips!

[@nagibmalouf7810]

Thanks

[@wholeNwon]

Yes but the process of determining whether a device to be implanted in the infraclavicular/prepectoral area is to be placed on the right or left include questions about whether the pt. is more often a driver or passenger in cars/trucks. It's not an arbitrary decision. There are other considerations, too, of course.

[@mariagee8847]

Very informative - thank u

[@deborahvenetucci8278]

Thank you! Again. You are so cute too. Adorable sweet man!! Thanks so much!

[@wiseforce7045]

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 Thank You Friend Many Blessings!

[@inekesnippe2951]

Wat een goede tip ! Bedankt!

[@omani_uk3368]

like ,,,thank you brother

[@alyonashylo5925]

Nice advice! I will try)

[@65WZ]

Thank you.. Two points I keep thinking of: 1) In an accident, the seatbelt nudging the device & leads, causing some heart hemorrhage. 2) The probability of fainting when/if the device defibrillates, while driving. I'm leaning more towards taxis and public transportation, just to increase the safety margin for me and others.

[@pijnto]

You don't faint when you receive a shock

[@65WZ]

@@pijnto That’s good to know. I received one shock while sleeping, and my wife said my body had a jolt that lifted me from the bed. This was confirmed when I went to the doctor.

[@matta5160]

What would happen if someone was touching the person when being shocked (for example to give medical attention) would they receive a lethal shock

[@65WZ]

@@matta5160 Nothing, it's micro-volts. So, it can rectify the heart's rhythm, but it's too low to travel to other organs or to be felt when touched 😊 This was one of the questions I asked the doctor before the transplant of the device.

[@pijnto]

Good thing is down here unless you are passenger the seat belt runs from right to left so 99% of the time it is not an issue.

[@StephanieJordan-qc7uu]

This is true.

[@LindaSimon-dq9sx]

Surprised to see how many people getting pacemaker I get mine on the 2nd

[@DouglasRachac]

Welcome to the club, fellow (soon-to-be) cyborg!

[@joythomson6436]

Thanks for info, helpful. I was in a car accident. Slamming into the seatbelt snapped my pacing lead. Spent 4 days in hospital. If it snapped the other lead apparently I wouldn't be here.

[@DouglasRachac]

I'm glad to hear you're still with us Joy! Hopefully you're back on your feet running around town again. Take care!

[@joythomson6436]

@@DouglasRachac thanks so much, good to still be here 😊, I'm honestly struggling with the new pm, keeps making my heart go into tachycardia. New brand of pm for me...I only ever had Medtronics which were all great. This Biotronics isn't like my previous PM's - had it interrogated and adjusted several times but it just not right. It's wearing me out a bit. Hopefully my new cardiologist can figure it out. Thanks so much for your informative videos, very helpful 😊

[@wilsoncelf]

@@joythomson6436 that's exactly what I though it would happen in an accident. Of course the pacemakers wouldn't break, but the wires and the casing ain't titanium. I always use the seat belt under my arm, just because I think my survival probability is greater with a broken nose than a wire snapped PM.

[@matta5160]

In the UK and I believe most US states you can be exempt from wearing a seatbelt on medical grounds. Even if you wear your seatbelt differently it would probably be advisable to get such exemption as any modifications to the seatbelt could result in a ticket.

[@DouglasRachac]

This is true! In the UK and in many states you can receive a medical exemption from wearing a seat belt for many medical and mental health conditions. However, having an implanted device is usually not accepted as one of those reasons for getting an exemption. Each request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, so it’s not impossible to get an exemption, though it’s unlikely if having an implanted device is the only reason. Nice call out, Matt. Thanks!

[@Jose-gz6hp]

Thanks Mr Douglas for the info , Do you have information about the air backs?

[@DouglasRachac]

Hi Jose, thanks for the note, and thanks for watching. The airbags are an important safety feature of today's cars. There is some fear that an airbag could damage an implanted device, but if someone is in an accident powerful enough to cause the airbags to deploy the first concern is surviving the accident, and that is best done with the use of a seatbelt and airbags. Any problems that might develop because of the accident can be dealt with later. I have spoken to many people who have devices who have also been in serious accidents. In almost all of the cases their implanted device and leads were not damaged in the accident. So, personal safety is the first concern. Your doctor can fix any problems cause by an accident later. I hope that helps.

[@Jose-gz6hp]

@@DouglasRachac thanks for the information, it’s helps me very much, And I really appreciate what you are doing for us through this channel this info is literally changing lives 👍🏻

[@ahmedshahsayed2033]

Great full advise thanks

[@randallbell8887]

Thanks for the seat belt information. I have an ICD and when wearing a shirt can be very uncomfortable. Any suggestion?

[@DouglasRachac]

Thanks for watching Randall. That's a tough one... The only thing I can think of is some desensitizing techniques. You start with rubbing something soft, like cotton, on the area that gets sore. You do that for several weeks slowly progressing up to more and more abrasive items until the skin is desensitized to the touch. I don't know how effective this is, but if wearing a shirt is the problem I'm not sure what else can be done to help. Perhaps when it's time to replace the device you can ask your doctor to bury the device under the muscle instead of just under the skin. Maybe that will help with the tenderness. Sorry I can't offer you more advice.

[@fernandodagnilli8036]

but for countries who drive on the left, its no problem,,,

[@mohammadfadliehtji8945]

Hello my friend, I hope you are well...

[@DouglasRachac]

Yes, I am, thank you. I need to put some new videos up, though, don’t I?

[@mohammadfadliehtji8945]

@@DouglasRachac Yes, we are always waiting for you, my dear friend, and I share your videos on Facebook groups

[@andyarmstrong1493]

In the UK we're lucky.

[@williamecabrera6740]

It cross my mind if I ever have a car accident where my defibrillator breaks me getting shock after shock after shock probably die from that no from the car accident

[@DouglasRachac]

Hi William, that is a common fear, but even repeated shocks from your device when you don’t need it will not cause you to die. You could receive 100+ shocks and your heart will survive. But you might not survive a car accident without a seatbelt, so it’s best to wear that when you’re in a car.

[@mariopuzo4509]

MN's ❤️ Ron gardenhire 😉🙂

[@jypseamoon930]

Can we have our seat belt switched to right shoulder

[@DouglasRachac]

I don’t believe the seatbelt can easily be swapped to the other side. You certainly don’t want to just flip it over your head to the opposite side as that will change the force of an impact and may not be effective or safe.

[@johnminshell6532]

Get a right hand drive car !

[@enderman6231]

Get an Italian car. Good excuse to buy a FERARRI.

[@happyfarmer979]

Thank you