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Too many cars, too much heart attack risk!

Too many cars, too much heart attack risk!
Truck traffic exposure: Is your house on the main road where too many vehicles queue up all day long? Shut those windows during peak hours.

Written by Agencies |Updated : August 31, 2015 12:11 PM IST

With the increase in population, the number of cars on the road have also gone up in the recent years. While having a car is a luxury, the ill-effects of the air pollution caused by these vehicles poses a greater risk to our health than we realize. A new study has revealed that even short-term exposure to particulate matter and nitric dioxide (NO2) air pollution, originating from the combustion of fossil fuels. These emissions from industrial plants or vehicles increases risk of severe heart attacks.

The study investigated the effect of short term exposure to air pollution on the risk of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a deadly type of heart attack caused by a prolonged blockage of blood supply in the heart. The association between STEMI and air pollution was observed within one day of exposure, said researcher Jean-Francois Argacha, cardiologist at University Hospital Brussels in Belgium.

This was despite the fact that concentrations of air pollutants were within the European air quality standard, Argacha noted. The researchers used a statistical model to evaluate real-time exposure to air pollution in each part of Belgium with adjustments for population density. The researchers looked at records of hospitalisations for STEMI in Belgium between 2009 and 2013. (Read: Air pollution the 5th leading cause of death in India claimed 35,000 lives in the past decade)

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They found that 10 micrograms per cubic metre increases in ambient PM2.5 concentrations were associated with a 2.8 percent increase in STEMI while 10 micrograms per cubic metre rises in NO2 were associated with a 5.1 percent increased risk. These associations were only observed in men. It is possible that only men were affected because of the under representation of women in our study population (less than 25 percent), Argacha said. The findings were presented at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2015 in London this week. (Read: Walking may help you beat a heart attack)

Source: IANS

Photo source: Getty images

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