Diana Tolstova, 30, has died after a scanner at the Baikal International Airport caused her pacemaker to malfunction, News.com.au reported on Wednesday.
Tolstova was traveling up to a gate with her husband, Maxim, 33, when she felt dizzy and collapsed. Though Maxim called paramedics, he said they didn't help his wife in time.
"It took a few minutes before hospital doctors arrived, and when they did they didn't know what to do," Maxim alleges. "They didn't give her any first aid and they didn't call an ambulance."
He said his wife died in his arms in the airport. The glitch is suspected to be caused by electromagnetic waves.
The American Heart Association recommends that people with pacemakers avoid metal detectors, but that they are unlikely to cause a health risk in the majority of patients.
Maxim Tolstova said the couple had alerted airport security to the fact that his wife had a pacemaker.
"Security and airport personnel are given strict instructions about how to handle people with pacemakers, and we warn them never to let a wearer go through a metal detector," an airport spokesman told the Daily Mail. "In this case, the patient seems to either have forgotten about it, didn't know or became confused by the airport security, but every patient receives a strict warning."
Pacemakers can also cause security alarms to go off in the metal detector, which could prompt a search being conducted with a smaller, hand-held metal detector. This is considered safe for the heart device, but should not be placed over the body for longer than what is really needed.
