Breast implants may impede an important medical test for the heart, a new study suggests.
Women with breast implants could be at risk of getting false heart attack diagnoses, experts said after it was found that implants may disrupt readings for an electrocardiogram (ECG).
The test helps medics assess a patient's heart's rhythm and electrical activity.
Sensors attached to a patient's skin detect electrical signals produced by the heart each time it beats. These signals are recorded by a machine and are looked at by a doctor to see if they're unusual.
The new study, being presented at the European Heart Rhythm Association Europace Cardiostim conference in Vienna, set out to assess whether breast implants are associated with abnormal ECG recordings.
"Our experience shows that breast implants make it difficult to see the heart with echocardiography because ultrasound cannot penetrate through the implant.
"We wanted to find out if implants also disrupt an ECG," said lead author Dr Sok-Sithikun Bun, a cardiologist at Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco.
Researchers assessed 28 women with breast implants and 20 women of the same age who did not have breast implants, all of whom were healthy and had no known structural heart disease.
ECGs were performed on all of the women and recordings were analysed by two experienced electrophysiologists.
Among the women with breast implants, one electrophysiologist classified 38 per cent of the ECGs as abnormal and the second electrophysiologist classified 57 per cent of the ECGs as abnormal.
For the control group, all ECG recordings were considered normal by one electrophysiologist and the other electrophysiologist classified the ECG recording of one woman as abnormal.
"The main difference between the two groups of women was the breast implants so we think the abnormal ECG recordings were false readings due to the implants," said Dr Bun.
Dr Bun advised women with breast implants to inform their doctor before having an ECG.
"When a patient comes to the emergency department with chest pain, an ECG is performed to see if they are having a heart attack," he added.
"Doctors should be aware that ECG interpretation can be misleading in patients with breast implants. In case of any doubts regarding the diagnosis, blood tests need to be performed depending on the symptoms."
