"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.
"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."
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.
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