Exposure of frog hearts to CW or amplitude-modulated VHF fields: selective efflux of calcium ions at 16 Hz.

Schwartz JL, House DE, Mealing GA,

Bioelectromagnetics 11(4):349-358, 1990

Isolated frog hearts were exposed for 30-min periods in a Crawford cell to a 240-MHz electromagnetic field, either continuous-wave or sinusoidally modulated at 0.5 or 16 Hz. Radiolabeled with calcium (45Ca), the hearts were observed for movement of Ca⁺⁺ at calculated SARs of 0.15, 0.24, 0.30, 0.36, 1.50, or 3.00 mW/kg.

Neither CW radiation nor radiation at 0.5 Hz, which is close to the beating frequency of the frog's heart, affected movement of calcium ions.

When the VHF field was modulated at 16 Hz, a field-intensity-dependent change in the efflux of calcium ions was observed. Relative to control values, ionic effluxes increased by about 18% at 0.3 mW/kg (P less than .01) and by 21% at 0.15 mW/kg (P less than .05), but movement of ions did not change significantly at other rates of energy deposition.

These data indicate that the intact myocardium of the frog, akin to brain tissue of neonatal chicken, exhibits movement of calcium ions in response to a weak VHF field that is modulated at 16 Hz.