With the increasing use of software and wireless transmissions comes a new concern — that your pacemaker could be hacked and reprogrammed to make it malfunction.
The only sure-fire way to reduce the risk of hacking is to use devices that aren’t designed to permit remote software updates or wireless communications.
But patients benefit from these technologies because the remote access can make devices work better and allow for updates and adjustments without repeat surgery.
While the possibility of hacking is being taken seriously enough for members of the American College of Cardiology to take note of the possibility, there has never been an instance recorded of a pacemaker or ICD being hacked.
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