Pacemakers, Implants and Facial Devices, the Hard Rules
Medically reviewed by
4 independent reviewers
Andrew Conrad Barile, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | Licensed Physical Therapist (PT) | CEO and Founder, Xtreem Pulse LLC
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Dr. Andrew Conrad Barile is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the CEO and Founder of Xtreem Pulse LLC, the engineering company behind PureLift. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and is a licensed physical therapist.
He brings over two decades of clinical and entrepreneurial experience across physical therapy, craniosacral therapy and medical device innovation, built on a working knowledge of human anatomy and muscle physiology.
For PureLift LAB he reviews how current is delivered across all ten levels, from sub-sensory nanocurrent and skin-level microcurrent to motor-level EMS, and how the Infuse pass fits into the same ten-minute routine.
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Board-Certified Physician, Dartmouth Medical School | Medical Director, Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic
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Dr. Bertica M. Rubio is a board-certified physician and Medical Director of the Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic in Redlands, California. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and completed her pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center.
With decades of clinical experience, she specialises in age management medicine, regenerative medicine, wound healing and growth factor therapies, and her practice integrates evidence-based medical science with advanced aesthetic treatment.
For PureLift LAB she reviews articles for medical accuracy across the whole dial, from the gentle nanocurrent and microcurrent settings through to muscle-level EMS and the Infuse pass.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Otolaryngologist | Head and Neck Surgeon | Fellow, American College of Surgeons | Mount Sinai
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Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon at ENT and Allergy Associates in West Nyack, New York. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He completed his otolaryngology residency at New York University Medical Center, serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
For PureLift LAB he brings a wider clinical lens, connecting at-home facial stimulation from microcurrent to EMS to the anatomy underneath, with the same rigour we apply to every device specification.
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann
Chair of Angiology, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg | Clinic Director, University Clinic for Angiology
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Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann is Chair of Angiology at the Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane and Clinic Director of the University Clinic for Angiology at the Brandenburg University Hospital.
He trained at the University of Hamburg, was a Max Planck Society Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, and held senior consultant posts at the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin before his appointment as Chair in 2016.
One of Europe's leading authorities on arteriogenesis, with over 150 peer-reviewed publications and US and EU patents, he reviews for PureLift LAB how the evidence on electrical stimulation is read and where its limits lie.
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If you have a pacemaker, an implanted defibrillator, or any other active implanted electrical device, do not use a facial stimulation device.
This article sets out what to check before you start, such as:
- Why active electrical implants are absolute
- Other implanted electrical devices
- Passive implants, which are a different question
- The other absolute and near-absolute entries
- How to ask usefully
and many more!
Other implants are a different question with different answers, and the ones below need a doctor rather than a website.
Key Points:
Pacemakers and implanted defibrillators: do not use, at any level, on any part of the body.
Any implanted neurostimulator, including deep brain, vagus nerve and cochlear implants: ask the clinician who manages it.
A history of seizures, or any implanted device you are unsure about, means asking first.
Dental implants, plates, screws and joint replacements are a different category and usually not an issue, but ask.
Read the instructions for your own model, since the contraindications live there rather than here.
Why active electrical implants are absolute
A pacemaker or an implanted defibrillator senses the heart's own electrical activity and responds to it. An external source of current introduces electrical activity that such a device was not designed to interpret.
The concern is interference with a device that is doing something critical, and the consequences of interference are not cosmetic. That is why the contraindication is absolute rather than a matter of level, duration or distance from the chest.
It applies at level 1 as much as at level 10, because the rule is about introducing current at all rather than about how much.
There is no workaround, no lower setting that makes it acceptable, and we will not suggest one.
Other implanted electrical devices
Implanted neurostimulators of any kind, including spinal cord stimulators, deep brain stimulators and vagus nerve stimulators, fall in the same category of concern and the answer comes from the clinician who manages the implant.
Cochlear implants are an electrical device in the head, and that proximity makes the question more pointed rather than less. Ask the audiologist or surgeon who fitted it.
Implanted drug pumps and any other active device: same answer, ask the team responsible for it.
In each case the person to ask is the one who manages the implant, not a GP unfamiliar with it and certainly not us.
Passive implants, which are a different question
Dental implants, plates and screws, joint replacements and surgical clips are inert metal rather than electrical devices, and they are generally not treated the same way.
That said, the honest position is that it depends on what and where, and the surgeon who placed it is the person who knows. A titanium plate in the jaw is a more relevant question than a hip replacement.
Dermal fillers and threads are also not electrical, and the timing question around them belongs with the injector who placed them.
The other absolute and near-absolute entries
Do not use over broken skin, an active cold sore, or anything inflamed.
A history of seizures or epilepsy means asking a doctor before using any electrical stimulation device.
Pregnancy appears as a contraindication in the instructions for our models, and that reflects the absence of research rather than a documented harm; either way the instruction stands.
Any condition affecting sensation in the face means you cannot reliably judge the level, which is its own reason to ask first.
Do not use around the eyes or over the eyelids, and GLOW's light must not be used there either.
How to ask usefully
Bring the specifics rather than the category. "A facial device that applies an electrical current of up to 9 milliamps to the face, for ten minutes, several times a week" is answerable; "a beauty gadget" is not.
Name the model and the output. PureLift publishes 7 mA at 500 ohms for Face and Pro, 7.7 mA for Pro Edition and 9 mA for Pro Plus and GLOW, with a 4 microsecond pulse width on Face and Pro, cleared under K190269, K230506, K221443 and K243587.
Those numbers are what a clinician can actually work with, and they are one of the reasons to prefer a brand that publishes them.
If you are not sure
Do not use it until you have an answer. The cumulative work a device does is measured in months and waiting a fortnight for a conversation costs nothing.
Read the instructions for your own model in full, since the complete contraindication list lives there and takes precedence over any article, including this one.
If your situation is not covered by the instructions, that is a question rather than a permission.
This is general information and not medical advice. The instructions supplied with your device and the guidance of the clinician managing your care both take priority over anything written here.
Two related questions come up often alongside this one, and we have answered both in full: the thyroid, pacemaker and implant exclusions, and the full safety picture, including who should not use one.