Effects of mobile phone radiation on heart rate: a radiation-detector controlled pilot study

Objectives : To investigate to what degree radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation, induced by a mobile phone placed on the chest, impacts cardiac rhythm. Design : n=1, single blinded pilot study Setting : Academic hospital, Maastricht, the Netherlands Participants : One healthy female 24 years old participant. Interventions : The participant underwent four experimental sessions, spread over four days. A session consisted of four consecutive 15 minute conditions, three with a sham phone and one with a dialling mobile phone. The participant was blind for the condition. During each condition, per-millisecond electrocardiac activity (lead V4) and radiofrequency radiation was recorded jointly. Primary outcome measure : Heart rate. The association with radiation was analysed at two levels, (i) at macrolevel, based on averaged condition effects, and (ii) at microlevel, focusing on radiation peak-related effects within the exposure condition. Results : The macrolevel analysis clearly indicated that heart rate was lowered during the radiation exposure condition. The heart rate during the preceding and subsequent sham phone condition was respectively 1.014 beats/minute (p < 0.001) and 1.009 beats/minute (p < 0.001) higher compared to the radiation exposure condition. In order to conduct radiation-detector controlled microlevel analyses, 142 critical segments were identified, in which a radiation-free period was followed by a radiation peak. The heart rate during the radiation-free period showed a mean increase, whereas the radiation peak period was associated with a mean decrease in heart rate (time*period interaction: p=0.001). Thus, the macrolevel finding was confirmed at microlevel. Conclusions : Mobile phone radiation may impact heart rate, suggesting urgent further study to assess physiological safety parameters.