Journal calls for independent studies on Tasers

This is from CTV. While the idea of this study seems valid enough I have two concerns: i) many experts on tasers are indirectly connected to the main company making them ii) the problem is not just direct effects on the heart as studied in pigs but indirect effects caused by the trauma.


Journal calls for independent studies on Tasers
Updated Fri. May. 2 2008 11:27 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Tasers may not be as safe as their manufacturer claims they are, says a new report, which calls for an independent study into the impact they may have on the human heart.

The analysis, published in the latest edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, points to three studies that exhibited that Tasers stimulated the hearts of pigs. The manufacturer of these stun guns has long maintained that Tasers only have an effect on skeletal muscles.

"I think the assertion that's been made that Tasers cannot possibly cause any direct action on the heart is incorrect. Tasers can affect the heart in particular circumstances," one of the study's authors, Dr. Paul Dorian, told CTV's Canada AM on Friday.

"It's important to note that we didn't do our research in human beings and we are not saying that Tasers are necessarily dangerous to the human heart. But I think we're fairly confident that in certain circumstances, turning a Taser on when it's in contact with the chest wall in a particular way definitely has effects on the heart."

The findings showed that 74 of a total of 150 electrical discharges aimed at six anesthetized pigs stimulated the pigs' heart muscles. Ninety-four of the total discharges were aimed directly at the heart.

Dorian noted that a Taser pointed at another area of the body, such as the abdomen or the back, did not have an effect on the heart.

"The consequence of a Taser discharge in certain circumstances, not in all circumstances, is that the rapid discharge causes the heart to beat very, very quickly and when the Taser's turned off the heart returns back to its normal heart beat," Dorian said.

"The concern is that when the heart beats very quickly, it doesn't pump blood effectively and, in rare cases, after the electricity is turned off it keeps beating very quickly, and that can potentially have very dangerous consequences."

There have been 300 reported cases of death after Taser use, and about 20 of those have been in Canada.

The most recent case in Canada was that of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who died last October shortly after being Tasered by the RCMP at the Vancouver airport.

An inquest into his death is expected to begin in a few days.

Dziekanski had been acting erratically after arriving at the airport on a flight from Poland.

The report points out that in one study, the pigs' blood pressure was suddenly lost after they were Tasered, while two pigs died in another study after being Tasered and developing a rapid heart rate.

While Dorian cautioned against applying the data directly to humans, he noted a great deal of heart research has been conducted on pigs.

"We are quite confident that pig hearts are comparable to human hearts at least with respect to the effects of electrical circuits on the heart muscle," Dorian said.

Dorian said that the aim of the research was not to call for the end of Taser use in law-enforcement situations.

"I think the community in general, and particularly police communities and others who use the Taser, need to be aware of the fact that there are potential risks associated with the Taser, these are cardiac risks, and we definitely need more research to better understand them," said Dorian.


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