Stereo Speaker Silences Automatic Implantable Cardioverter–Defibrillator

To the Editor: We wish to report an unusual complication in a patient with an automatic implantable cardioverter–defibrillator.^1,2 A 58-year-old man was recently seen for routine evaluation of his cardioverter–defibrillator (Ventrak, Model 1510). On magnet check, the cardioverter–defibrillator was found to be deactivated. It had been implanted on April 7, 1986, after sudden death secondary to documented ventricular tachycardia degenerating into ventricular fibrillation had been averted. The patient reported no obvious prolonged contact with magnets or strong magnetic fields since his previous visit to our clinic. On careful questioning, however, he recalled that about 10 days earlier he had moved ….