Evaluation of the hypomagnetic environment effects on capillary blood circulation, blood pressure, and heart rate

Abstract

The impact of attenuated magnetic field (МF) on human health is a burning issue of present-day cosmonautics. A series of experiments with animals exposed to attenuated MF revealed violent disorders in the development of the cardiovascular system. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effects of hypomagnetic environment (HME) on capillary blood circulation, blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) in healthy humans. Participants (n = 34) were 24 men and 10 women without cardiovascular symptoms. The mean age was 43.3 ± 15.4 years. Thirteen participants, eight men and five women, were randomly selected for a repeated investigation under natural conditions (sham exposure). The mean age in this group was 47.9 ± 18 years. Cardiac rhythm and heart rate were recorded using an Astrocard cardiac monitor (Russia). BP was measured by means of a Tonocard automatic blood pressure monitor (Russia). Capillary circulation was determined using a digital capillaroscope (Russia) with a high-speed CMOS camera (100 frames/s). The duration of HME exposure was 60 min. It has been demonstrated that HME increases capillary circulation rate by 22.4% in healthy humans without cardiovascular symptoms as compared to the records made under natural conditions. There was a significant HR reduction by the end of HME exposure as compared to the measurements taken at the beginning. At the end of the exposure, diastolic BP dropped considerably relative to mid-exposure values; on the contrary, systolic BP significantly increased by the end.