Community Corner
Report: Could Navy Tests Damage Pacemakers?
A San Diego-area woman died two years ago after her pacemaker failed and her family wants other consumers to be warned if Navy tests could have contributed to the problem.
The family of a local woman who died after her pacemaker failed is pointing the finger at Navy operations as a cause for her death.
10News.com reports that Susan Reedy told the FDA of her concerns three years ago when she noticed she was having trouble with her pacemaker at the same time that some locals complained of interference that caused remote controls to be disrupted.
She talked to the station then and said she was frightened “because my life depends on this.”
Reedy, who worked in Hillcrest in San Diego, died in 2011 and her son Nicholas told Channel 10 that a forensic exam showed the pacemaker was not working. A private investigator working with the family found that the Navy was conducting a sonar test at the time.
The Navy did not comment to Channel 10 about the issue. An FDA inquiry is ongoing, the station reported.
The Reedy family may sue, the report said, while also noting that the Navy has suggested interference could take place because military bases “often use the same frequency range as some consumer devices.”
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.