Ladies, watch out! Living near a major road way could be deadly for your heart

Living in a busy metropolitan can severely damage your health, especially for women. A new study has found that living close to a major road may increase the risk of women dying from sudden cardiac ar

By: Editorial Team | | Published: October 14, 2014 4:41 pm

Living in a busy metropolitan can severely damage your health, especially for women. A new study has found that living close to a major road may increase the risk of women dying from sudden cardiac arrest. While researchers previously found a modest increase in coronary heart disease risk among people who live near major roadways, the new study may be the first to examine the impact of roadway proximity to the risk of sudden cardiac death.

Roadway proximity could be a marker for exposure to air pollution, the findings noted. ‘It is important for health care providers to recognise that environmental exposures may be under appreciated risk factors for diseases such as sudden cardiac death and fatal coronary heart disease,’ said study lead author Jaime Hart from the Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts in the US. (Read: 10 secrets to great heart health)

‘On a population level, living near a major roadway was as important a risk factor as smoking, diet or obesity,’ Hart added. The researchers studied data from 107,130 women (average age 60) who were part of the Nurses’ Health Study from 1986-2012. In 523 cases of sudden cardiac death, living within 50 metres of a major road increased the risk of sudden cardiac death by 38 percent, compared to living at least 500 metres away, the findings showed. (Read: Top 8 reasons why oestrogen is a woman’s best friend)

Each 100 metres closer to roadways was associated with a six percent increased risk for sudden cardiac death. In the 1,159 cases of fatal coronary heart disease, risk increased by 24 percent. ‘Regardless of where you live, adopting heart healthy habits, such as maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, eating nutritious food, quitting smoking, and managing stress, can help decrease your risk of heart and blood vessel disease,’ Hart pointed out. (Read: Indian women more vulnerable to heart diseases now)

The study appeared in the journal Circulation.

Here are ten tips for a healthier heart:

Kick the butt

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)estimates that smoking increases the chance of suffering from a coronary heart disease by two to four times by reducing blood circulation due to narrowed arteries. Scarily, 92 million out of India’s 285 million smokers don’t even know that it’s bad for their heart. Along with cardiovascular diseases smoking is responsible for other diseases like cancer as well and affects almost every organ in the body. And if that’s still not enough impetus to quit smoking, consider the fact that second hand smoke kills 600,000 people every year out of which 100,000 are children and 87% of deaths due to second hand smoke are due to cardiovascular diseases. So kick the butt now, if not for yourself then for your near and dear ones whom you’re exposing to second hand smoke. Various techniques to quit smoking

Drink moderately

Alcohol’s effect on the heart is hotly debated. Numerous studies have found that people, who drink moderately, actually have better cardiovascular health than people who don’t drink or those who do excessively. Moderate means either 330ml of beer, 60ml of hard liquor or 100ml of wine. However, others have debunked these results claiming that there isn’t even a way to define moderate and such revelations could lead to misunderstanding and increased drinking. What is not debatable is the fact that excessive drinking is tied to various cardiovascular issues like obesity, high blood pressure and increased risk to coronary artery disease. Binge drinking (drinking excessively in a short amount of time) too is linked to poor cardiovascular health. Read more about World Heart Day 2013: Heart disease kills one in three women

With inputs from IANS

Photo source: Getty images

Published: October 14, 2014 4:41 pm

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