Electrical Hazards and Cardiovascular Function

Abstract

Use of electrically operated equipment and electrical stimulation devices is potentially hazardous. In addition to power-line-operated electrocardiographic machines, pacemakers and other therapeutic and diagnostic devices, lamps, television sets, radios and electrically operated beds can supply potentially lethal electrical current. Patient contact with two or more power-line-operated devices may provide a current path through the patient. If the heart lies within this path, a hazardous situation exists. This problem can be minimized by proper grounding of the devices and periodic measurement of the leakage current supplied by each device. Ten microamperes is the maximum amount of leakage current tolerable from any device in contact with a patient with a low-resistance intracardiac catheter. However, battery-operated devices provide the maximum protection from accidental electrical shock.