Airport security screening with hand-held metal detectors is most likely safe for people with devices to help the heart beat regularly, such as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, a European study said. There have been some reports of magnetic fields, such as those produced by airport metal detectors, interfering with the devices, and travelers who have them are advised to ask for a pat-down at airport security -- causing frequent problems for the patients, said Clemens Jilek of the German Heart Center Munich, one of the study’s authors.
