We’ve heard rumors about iPods making pacemakers miss a beat, but this time the health report came from a 17-yeard-old, most likely an iPod owner and iPod fan. Jay Haymaker, a student of Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan, tested 100 heart patients that have been fitted with pacemakers. He found out there was electrical interference on pacemakers 50% of the time when an iPod was two inches from a patient’s chest for 5 to 10 seconds. Significant interference was observed even when the iPod is 18 inches away from the patient’s chest.

Does this mean that a patient with a pacemaker has a right to tell a neighbor listening to an iPod to turn his gadget off? Further study is needed to confirm the findings but it’s safe to assume these types of health concerns related to a ubiquitous gadget such as the iPod will have an effect on lifestyles of users. The study did not include other iPod-like MP3 devices.

[via techshout]