Effects of 50 Hz magnetic field exposure on human heart rate variability with passive tilting

The question of whether power-frequency magnetic fields of strengths relevant to industrial exposure can affect heart rhythm remains controversial. Because the reported effects on heart rate (HR) are so small, procedures which can provoke changes in the sympathovagal balance in a controlled manner may have a greater capacity for identifying subtle field-related changes, if they do exist. We have investigated HR and heart rate variability (HRV) spectral indices in 20 volunteers subjected to a tilt from the supine position to 60 degrees , head up. The tilting procedure was carried out under two conditions, field (28 microT resultant, circularly polarized) and sham, in a balanced double-blind design. Subjects were instructed to breathe in time with an audible cue at 2.5 s intervals. Although the anticipated significant changes in HR and the high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF) and LF/HF ratio (log transformed) occur with tilting, there were no significant differences between corresponding measures with and without exposure to magnetic fields (tilt ln LF/HF ratio 0.94 +/- 0.19 and 0.95 +/- 0.20 for sham and field, respectively). There was also no evidence of a field-related trend in spectral alterations when the time following tilting was divided into three 256 s epochs.