Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 50, Issue 5 931-935, Copyright © 1981 by American Physiological Society
Influence of acute microwave radiation on cardiac function in normal and myocardial ischemic cats
M. J. Galvin and D. I. McRee
Exposure of biological specimens to microwave radiation in vivo and in
vitro has been reported to cause alterations to the cardiovascular system.
In addition, microwave radiation may cause effects in damaged cardiac
tissue that are not observed in normal tissue. In this study, we examined
the influence of direct microwave irradiation (2.45 GHz, continuous wave)
of the intact exposed heart on cardiac function in cats with and without
myocardial ischemia. Myocardial ischemia was induced by occlusion of the
left anterior descending coronary artery. In the sham-nonexposed and
sham-plus-microwave exposed animals the coronary artery was isolated but
not occluded. The exposed hearts were either irradiated at a specific
absorption rate (SAR) of 30 mW/g or not irradiated, and were monitored for
5 h. At a SAR of 30 mW/g, the temperature of the exposed tissue increased
at an initial rate of 0.43 degrees C/min in dead cats. However, in live
animals, no increases in aortic blood temperatures occurred during
irradiation. Mean arterial blood pressure, cardiac output, heart rate,
plasma and myocardial creatine phosphokinase, and S-T segment were not
influenced by 5 h of microwave irradiation of the myocardium in cats with
or without myocardial ischemia.
