The consumer watchdog group Consumer Watchdog issued a warning this week against purchasing heart pacemakers made by Tapson-Wise of Milwaukee.
Rather than being equipped with standard pacemaker motors, the group has learned, the Tapson-Wise devices have been fitted with leftover motors purchased from The Clapper! company. They had been stored in a warehouse for over 35 years.
The Clapper! – made popular in the 1970s and 80s by the “Clap On! Clap Off!” TV ads – enabled people to operate home appliances by clapping their hands once to turn them on, and twice to turn them off.
“This works fine for lamps, TVs and toasters,” says Watchdog spokesperson Emily Wilds, “but it will cause considerable discomfort for unsuspecting pacemaker wearers.”
“I had no idea my pacemaker had the Clapper motor,” says Jim Almondson of New Orleans, whose device was implanted last February. A week later, during the curtain calls for a performance of Death of a Salesman, he inexplicably kept fainting and coming to.
“They’re obviously trying to cut corners,” says Almondson. “I should have been suspicious that it only cost $19.99.”
That low price, says Watchdog’s Wilds, is undoubtedly what attracted over 1800 people to purchase the pacemakers in 2019 and 2020. Devices made by other manufacturers start at $35,000.
“It’s natural to look for a bargain,” Wilds says. “But always keep in mind that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
