Resting blood pressure increase during exposure to a radio-frequency electromagnetic field.
Braune, S, Wrocklage, C, Raczek, J, Gailus, T, Lucking, CH · 1998
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at 2 watts increased resting blood pressure in healthy adults within 35 minutes of exposure.
Plain English Summary
German researchers exposed 10 healthy volunteers to GSM 900 MHz cell phone radiation for 35 minutes while continuously monitoring their blood pressure and heart rate. They found that resting blood pressure increased during exposure to the phone's electromagnetic field compared to a placebo condition. This suggests that even short-term exposure to cell phone radiation can affect cardiovascular function in healthy individuals.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence that cell phone radiation can produce measurable cardiovascular effects in real-time. The researchers used GSM 900 MHz at 2 watts - similar to older cell phones but higher than many modern smartphones that typically operate at 0.6-1.6 watts. What makes this research particularly significant is the controlled, single-blind design and the fact that effects were observed in healthy young adults during relatively brief exposure periods. The finding that blood pressure increased during active EMF exposure suggests our cardiovascular system responds to radiofrequency fields even when we're not consciously aware of the exposure. This adds to the growing body of evidence that EMF exposure produces biological effects at levels well below current safety standards, which focus only on heating effects rather than the subtle physiological changes documented here.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: GSM 900 MHz Duration: 35 Minutes
Study Details
Seven healthy men and three women volunteers aged between 26 and 36 years underwent a single-blind placebo-controlled protocol to investigate the influence of the EMF of a mobile telephone (GSM 900 MHz, 2 Watt, 217 Hz frame repetition rate) on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), capillary perfusion (CP), and subjective well-being.
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Show BibTeX
@article{braune_1998_resting_blood_pressure_increase_1924,
author = {Braune and S and Wrocklage and C and Raczek and J and Gailus and T and Lucking and CH},
title = {Resting blood pressure increase during exposure to a radio-frequency electromagnetic field.},
year = {1998},
url = {https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(98)24025-6/fulltext},
}