Medical devices like pacemakers and defibrillators could be susceptible to hacking and potentially life-threatening attacks, according to a study by researchers in the American College of Cardiology

While many types of medical devices have been targeted by hackers for over a decade, the potential for hacking cardiac devices has recently drawn the attention of media, patients and health care providers, according to the college’s Electrophysiology Section Council.

The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, considered ways to improve medical device cybersecurity.