During the last years a possible link between dif-
ferent levels of solar and geomagnetic disturbances and hu-
man physiological parameters is suggested by several pub-
lished studies. In this work the examination of the potential
association between heart rate variations and specific space
weather activities was performed. A total of 482 individuals
treated at Hippocratio General Hospital in Athens, the Car-
diology clinics of Nikaia General Hospital in Piraeus and
the Heraklion University Hospital in Crete, Greece, were as-
sessed from July 2011 to April 2013. The heart rate of the
individuals was recorded by a Holter monitor on a n hourly
basis, while the hourly variations of the cosmic ray inten-
sity measured by the Neutron Monitor Station of the Athens
University and of the geomagnetic index Dst provided by
the Kyoto Observatory were used. The ANalysis Of VAri-
ance (ANOVA) and the Multiple Linear Regression analysis
were used for analysis of these data. A statistically signifi-
cant effect of both cosmic rays and geomagnetic activity on
heart rate was observed, which may indicate that changes in
space weather could be linked to heart rate variations.

EB00000004015K

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• Impact of space weather on human heart rate during the years 2011–2013