Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Apr;12(4):809-17.
doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2014.12.022. Epub 2014 Dec 19.

The use of low-level electromagnetic fields to suppress atrial fibrillation

Lilei Yu  1 , John W Dyer  2 , Benjamin J Scherlag  2 , Stavros Stavrakis  2 , Yong Sha  2 , Xia Sheng  2 , Paul Garabelli  2 , Jerry Jacobson  3 , Sunny S Po  4
Affiliations

The use of low-level electromagnetic fields to suppress atrial fibrillation

Lilei Yu et al. Heart Rhythm. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Extremely low-level electromagnetic fields have been proposed to cause significant changes in neural networks.

Objective: We sought to investigate whether low-level electromagnetic fields can suppress atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: In 17 pentobarbital anesthetized dogs, bilateral thoracotomies allowed the placement of multielectrode catheters in both atria and at all pulmonary veins. AF was induced by rapid atrial pacing (RAP) or programmed atrial extrastimulation. At baseline and end of each hour of RAP, during sinus rhythm, atrial programmed stimulation gave both the effective refractory period (ERP) and the width of the window of vulnerability. The latter was a measure of AF inducibility. Microelectrodes inserted into the anterior right ganglionated plexi recorded neural firing. Helmholtz coils were powered by a function generator inducing an electromagnetic field (EMF; 0.034 μG, 0.952 Hz). The study sample was divided into 2 groups: group 1 (n = 7)-application of EMF to both cervical vagal trunks; group 2 (n = 10)-application of EMF across the chest so that the heart was located in the center of the coil.

Results: In group 1, EMF induced a progressive increase in AF threshold at all pulmonary vein and atrial sites (all P < .05). In group 2, the atrial ERP progressively shortened and ERP dispersion and window of vulnerability progressively increased (P < .05 compared to baseline values) during 3 hours of RAP and then returned to baseline values during 3 hours of combined application of RAP and EMF (P < .05 compared to the end of the third hour of RAP). The frequency and amplitude of the neural activity recorded from the anterior right ganglionated plexi were markedly suppressed by EMF in both groups.

Conclusion: Pulsed EMF applied to the vagal trunks or noninvasively across the chest can significantly reverse AF inducibility.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Autonomic nervous system; Electromagnetic field.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms