Increased exposure time of Daphnia magna to nicotine causes an increase in heart rate

Abstract

Nicotine is a stimulant which is known to cause an increase in heart rate. Several studies describe multiple side effects that nicotine has on heart health, for example one side effect is that it increases blood pressure (Corotto et al., 2010). We proposed that having an increased exposure time to nicotine rather than a decreased or nonexistent exposure time may result in a higher heart rate which means that the cell is producing more action potentials. We conducted four trials comparing the effect different exposure times to nicotine have on the heart rate of Daphnia magna. We expect our results to be of interest to those who intake nicotine and want to understand the effect nicotine has on heart health. Our results conclude that an increased exposure time of Daphnia magna to nicotine causes an increase in heart rate. This is a significant finding because it can help explain why nicotine users often feel lightheaded or short of breath. These are symptoms caused by oxygen deprivation due to the heart not effectively pumping blood throughout the body because of an increased heart rhythm. This conclusion could open new avenues of research to understand the effect other stimulant drugs have on the heart.