Effect of reflexological stimulation on heart rate variability

Electromagnetic fields - do they pose a cardiovascular risk?

Mobile wireless communication technologies have now become an everyday part of our lives, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Monitoring the autonomous system under exposition to electromagnetic fields may play an important role in broading of our still limited knowledge on their effect on human body. Thus, we studied the interaction of the high frequency electromagnetic field (HF EMF) with living body and its effect on the autonomic control of heart rate using Heart Rate Variability (HRV) linear and nonlinear analyses in healthy volunteers. A group of young healthy probands (n=30, age mean: 24.2 ± 3.5 years) without any symptoms of disease was exposed to EMF with f=2400 MHz (Wi Fi), and f=2600 MHz (4G) for 5 minutes applied on the chest area. The short-term heart rate variability (HRV) metrics were used as an indicator of complex cardiac autonomic control. The evaluated HRV parameters: RR interval (ms), high frequency spectral power (HF-HRV in [ln(ms2)]) as an index of cardiovagal control, and a symbolic dynamic index of 0V %, indicating cardiac sympathetic activity. The cardiac-linked parasympathetic index HF-HRV was significantly reduced (p =0.036) and sympathetically mediated HRV index 0V % was significantly higher (p=0.002) during EMF exposure at 2400 MHz (Wi-Fi), compared to simulated 4G frequency 2600 MHz. No significant differences were found in the RR intervals. Our results revealed a shift in cardiac autonomic regulation towards sympathetic overactivity and parasympathetic underactivity indexed by HRV parameters during EMF exposure in young healthy persons. It seems that HF EMF exposure results in abnormal complex cardiac autonomic regulatory integrity which may be associated with higher risk of later cardiovascular complications already in healthy probands.

Effect of mobile phone radiofrequency signal on the alpha rhythm of human waking EEG: A review

In response to the exponential increase in mobile phone use and the resulting increase in exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF), there have been several studies to investigate via electroencephalography (EEG) whether RF-EMF exposure affects brain activity. Data in the literature have shown that exposure to radiofrequency signals modifies the waking EEG with the main effect on the alpha band frequency (8-13 Hz). However, some studies have reported an increase in alpha band power, while others have shown a decrease, and other studies showed no effect on EEG power. Given that changes in the alpha amplitude are associated with attention and some cognitive aspects of human behavior, researchers deemed necessary to look whether alpha rhythm was modulated under RF-EMF exposure. The present review aims at comparing and discussing the main findings obtained so far regarding RF-EMF effects on alpha rhythm of human waking spontaneous EEG, focusing on differences in protocols between studies, which might explain the observed discrepancies and inconclusive results.

Fractal Based Analysis of the Influence of Odorants on Heart Activity

An important challenge in heart research is to make the relation between the features of external stimuli and heart activity. Olfactory stimulation is an important type of stimulation that affects the heart activity, which is mapped on Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. Yet, no one has discovered any relation between the structures of olfactory stimuli and the ECG signal. This study investigates the relation between the structures of heart rate and the olfactory stimulus (odorant). We show that the complexity of the heart rate is coupled with the molecular complexity of the odorant, where more structurally complex odorant causes less fractal heart rate. Also, odorant having higher entropy causes the heart rate having lower approximate entropy. The method discussed here can be applied and investigated in case of patients with heart diseases as the rehabilitation purpose.

EFFECTS OF MOBILE PHONE RADIATION ON CARDIAC HEALTH

Mobile phones (MPs) progressed from a tool of the privileged few to a gadget for the masses. However, the physical effects, which enable wireless information transmission, did not change; MP technology still relies on pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic (EM) fields. Therefore, the health risks, associated with EM fields, remain. Studies that investigated these health risks have reported dizziness, numbness in the thigh, and heaviness in the chest. This study investigates neurological effects that are caused by EM fields radiated from MPs. The heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as a measure for these neurological effects, because the automated nervous system modulates the HRV. We measured the HRV of 14 healthy male volunteers. We used the following nonlinear parameters to quantify the MP radiation effects on HRV: approximate entropy (ApEn), capacity dimension (CaD), correlation dimension (CD), fractal dimension (FD), Hurst exponent (H), and the largest Lyapunov exponent (LLE). The results indicate that there is a measurable difference in the parameter values when the MP is kept close to the chest and when it is kept close to the head. However, these differences are very small and statistical analysis showed that they have no clinical significance. Furthermore, the result analysis does not show a consistent trend, which indicates that there is no underlying pathological effect.