The spikes in air pollution would lead to more heart attacks

QMI agency

Sunday, 18 February 2018 15:55

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Sunday, 18 February 2018 15:57

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A rapid degradation of the quality of the air could be just as, if not even more dangerous than exposure to the pollution on the long-term cardiovascular health, shows a study conducted in Jena, Germany.

For their research, the authors of the study are interested in the cases of 693 patients living within a radius of ten kilometres around the university Hospital of Jena who have suffered a heart attack between 2003 and 2010. The researchers analyzed the quality of the air, and especially the presence of nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere in the days surrounding the heart attacks.

The researchers were able to determine that a rapid increase in the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOx) by more than 20 ug/m3 in less than 24 hours double the risk of suffering a heart attack (+121 %).

Increase rapidly the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air of 8 ug/m3 because, on his side, 73 % more likely to experience a myocardial infarction. At the same time, a rapid decrease of 8 ug/m3 of nitrogen dioxide in the air was associated with a 60% decrease in chances of having a heart attack.

Nitrogen dioxide, a gas produced by the combustion engines of cars and thermal power plants, is responsible for acid rain.

“Our study suggests that the risk of myocardial infarction does not only depend on exposure to a significant concentration of oxide of nitrogen […] The rapid increases of nitrogen oxide are not uncommon, even in the cities the air is more healthy”, one can read in the study.

The authors believe that similar tests should be conducted in other cities to verify the results, in order to prepare public policy to attempt to limit these spikes of pollution. In the european Union, the policies set maximum limits for the rate of pollution by the hour or by the day, but nothing is planned for the speed at which those rates vary.

This study was published in the specialized journal “the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology”.