These are excellent questions to also discuss with the doctor who implanted your pacemaker. I may be unaware of things about your medical condition that may make using your electric bed/massager or spa dangerous to you. Please talk to your doctor before proceeding with these activities.

My answers apply to the Adapta DR pacemaker and not necessarily to other types of pacemakers. Electric massage beds produce mechanical vibrations that may activate a special sensor in your pacemaker that detects motion. This can fool the pacemaker into “thinking” you are engaged in some sort of physical activity and require a faster heart rate. Consequently, the discharge rate of the pacemaker can increase. If this is a problem, your doctor can turn off the rate-responsive function of the pacemaker. Massage from your electrical bed and pulsations from a bath spa should never be applied directly over the pacemaker because that can contribute to mechanical damage of the device or leads. The pressure jets can also fool your pacemaker into thinking you are being physically active, and trigger a faster pacemaker rate. You can avoid this response by not allowing the pressure jet to directly hit the pacemaker area. The pulsations will not affect the valve replacement. Rarely, electrical current leaking into spas from faulty lights and motors can affect pacemaker function. Finally, keep the pacemaker at least six inches from all motors and magnets, either as a part of your bed or in the spa. If you have any unusual symptoms, turn off the bed or remove yourself from the spa and consult with your doctor. All in all, these are very simple things to consider and/or avoid, and you should be able to enjoy your bed and bath without a problem.

Pacemaker Safety The Saturday Evening Post

An IMT ultrasonic (echo) scan, or an intima-media thickness measurement of the wall of the carotid artery in the neck, is often used as a surrogate marker for the development of atherosclerosis. When cholesterol gets deposited into arteries, the inner (intima) and middle (media) parts of the arterial wall thicken, so that a thicker wall produces a higher IMT score, which indicates the presence of increased cholesterol deposition and, therefore, more advanced atherosclerosis. What happens in the carotid artery in the neck appears to correlate with what is happening to arteries in the heart and head and, therefore, indicates a greater propensity for developing problems like a heart attack or stroke.

However, the IMT score is only one piece of an overall evaluation, and there are no studies showing that such a measurement alone improves patient outcomes. Nevertheless, given your family history and the fact that you have plaque in your carotid arteries (and assuming your lipids are abnormal), treatment with a statin would be indicated. If you were my patient, I would also address other risk factors such as diet, activity, smoking, blood pressure, weight, diabetes, and so on, and not consider a statin in isolation.

IMT Scan vs. Other Factors The Saturday Evening Post