Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields Induces Oxidative Stress and Pathophysiological Changes in the Cardiovascular System

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to highlight on the influence of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on the cardiovascular system in humans and experimental animals, from the recent articles regarding the cardiovascular effects of exposure to EMFs. EMFs might produce a variety of adverse in vivo effects such as heart problems, chest pain, and cardiovascular system disorders. Previous studies showed that an association between elevated magnetic field exposure and mortality of employer in electric utility industry jobs from arrhythmia-related causes and acute myocardial infarction influence heart rate variability by changing autonomic balance. EMF exposure can affect structure and function of cardiovascular system and may facilitate myocardial infarction by nuclear changing of cardiomyocytes. Exposure to EMFs induced pain or pressure in the chest area, heart palpitations and/or an irregular heartbeat. The symptoms resemble a heart attack and thus contribute to even more anxiety. Also, exposure to EMFs caused highly significant increases in the activeties of serum creatinine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate amino-transferase enzymes, and decreases in plasma calcium level and total anti-oxidant capacity. Rats exposed to EMF showed increases in blood pressure, the absolute and relative whole heart and left ventricular weights. On the other hand, the heart rate was significantly reduced in rats exposed to EMF. The ECG recording of experimental animals exposed to EMF showed a significantly higher R and T voltages, increase in QRS duration, and prolonged P-R and QT-c intervals. A serious histopathological changes in the heart were seen in experimental animals exposed to EMFs, these changes includes increases the number of apoptotic cells, dark brown stain muscle fiber nuclei, marked cell vacuolation, hyperemia muscle fiber degeneration, distortion of some cardiac myocytes, mononuclear cellular infiltration and histological structure of the myocytes spaces were seen. Ultra structural of the myocardial tissue and sarcomere in experimental animals exposed to EMFs showed that lose of area in sarcomeres, irregular structural of myocardial cells, and ruptures of sarcomeres, lose of mitochondria cristae, blebs of mitochondria. Conclusion: It can be concluded that exposure of human and experimental animals to EMFs have been a negative effect on the heart and blood vessels by causing a histopathological changes and disturbances in the functions of the organs of the cardiovascular system.