http://www.zdnet.com/article/fda-forces-st-jude-pacemaker-recall-to-patch-security-vulnerabilities/
Because of potential hacking concerns.
I just sent this to my 88 year old father as I have no idea which pacemaker he has. One would think the physician would notify any patients with one of these, but thank you for sharing.
So will these patients need surgery to remove and replace–eek!
That explains why the cardiologist was so happy I answered “Medtronic” to the ICD question!
It’s not a fun procedure, either. Battery life of mine is seven years, and the battery gets changed by replacing the entire device (about the size of a deck of cards), placed in such a way that my shoulder lost some motion as a result. The other hazardous part of the procedure is that many pacer/ICD patients need anticoagulation, so that adds a whole 'nuther layer of risk and complexity to the surgery.
Jeez. DH has a St. Jude pacemaker. I just sent this to him; I have no idea what the “name” of his is. (George?)
Note that prophylactic replacement of the pacemaker is not recommended.
My father’s is not a St Jude, so not worries there! Of course his home monitor is not working and he can’t seem to get any help on that; can’t really monitor his pacemaker if the monitor is out of order 
The cardiology practice should have a nurse onsite who does the monitoring (and a manufacturer rep) who can troubleshoot. At the practices I’ve been to, the Medtronic rep and the nurse do the testing (in office and remotely) and then I get a call with results.
@CountingDown, that is exactly what I told my dad; I am surprised he hasn’t called there yet. He has a great relationship with both his cardiologist and his nurse, who always returns his calls right away, so not really sure why the problem. Hopefully it will get settled shortly.
My father is 91 now with an on demand pacemaker. His brain/memory functioning is deteriorating more and more and he no longer does the physical activity (walking, hills) that instigated it many years ago. Several falls, two with lengthy hospital/rehab stints. As physicians H and I are advocating letting nature take its course- no more heart caths, colonoscopies, statins et al. He says they still do phone checks but he is unreliable. It is hard when he forgets grandchildren exist and that kids called/visited the day before. Doubt it is the recalled brand but won’t check…
I read the link to the FDA safety warning. The vulnerability is in certain models of St. Jude pacemakers. The St. Jude company was later taken over by Abbot. There is no problem with ICDs, which are the devices capable of shocking a fast arrhythmia and contain a simple pacemaker as well. . There is a fix, via the programmer, which is the device used to “interrogate” a pacemaker and change the settings via a wand placed over the pacemaker. The patient would need to be in the physician’s office and there is a very minor risk in applying the fix. No surgery is involved.
Wis75, wise approach to matters.
It should be a software issue, not the device itself - a similar problem can arise with many medical devices.
Cross-posted with @“great lakes mom”
@greatlakesmom: Thanks. I thought it required surgery to correct, but your post is reassuring.