Air pollution favors heart attack

Air pollution favors heart attack

26/02/2011

Coronary events such as heart attacks are greatly favored by the ever increasing air pollution. The resulting risk factors are as high as other harmful events or personal dispositions.

A high proportion of heart attacks seems to be at the expense of environmental pollution in the air. This was the result of a study by the research team of the University of Basel in collaboration with the Tropical and Health Sciences „Public Health Institute“ in Switzerland. Sudden onset of heart attacks occur, among other things, in case of overstrain, high alcohol consumption or coffee consumption. Emotional stress such as stress, positive emotions or anger can also trigger sudden heart attacks. As the science team found in an evaluation of a total of 36 independent studies, the air pollution causes about the same number of heart attacks in different severity levels as personal risk factors.

Air pollution as a trigger of a heart attack
Air pollution increases the risk of causing a heart attack by 5 percent and cocaine 23 times. Coffee increased this risk of heart attack by 1.5 percent, alcohol by 3 percent. However, since the entire population is exposed to air pollution, but only a small proportion (0.02 percent) consume cocaine, the pollution causes far more heart attacks than the drug. The highest proportion of risk came from road traffic (road, public transport, 7.4 per cent), followed by physical exertion (6.2 per cent), alcohol consumption (5.0 per cent) and coffee consumption (5.0 percent), the air pollution defined by the increasing number of heavy particles (4.8 percent), negative emotions (3.9 percent), anger (3.1 percent), heavy food (2.7 percent), positive Feelings (2.4 percent), sexual activity (2.2 percent), cocaine use (0.9 percent), marijuana smoking (0.8 percent) and respiratory disease (0.6 percent).

In summary, the researchers find that the biggest trigger for a coronary event in individuals is cocaine use. Here is the greatest likelihood of a serious heart attack. However, traffic has the biggest impact on humans, as more are exposed to this trigger. Although passive smoking was not explicitly covered in the comparison, the study authors assume that, „that the mechanisms of its effects are very likely to be similar to those of outdoor air pollution.“ It should be noted that a ban on smoking in public places and places could reduce the heart attack rate by 17 percent.

Scientists call for action to reduce risks
To further reduce the risk of heart attack, air pollution in most cities would have to be significantly reduced. The authors conclude: „Our study shows that ever-present small risks can have a significant impact on public health. The better air purification we breathe is a very important goal to reduce the incidence of this disease in the general population. "A good template for this are the standards developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Myocardial infarction (commonly referred to as a heart attack or heart attack) is an acute and life-threatening event due to sustained damage to the heart. With triggers, doctors refer to events that cause a heart attack. This means that the heart attack is only triggered by a trigger, if the heart is already permanently damaged. In a heart attack, parts of the heart muscle die, because heart cells are not sufficiently supplied with blood. In a heart attack patients usually suffer discomfort such as severe chest pain, pain in the shoulders, arms and lower jaw. Many also notice acute abdominal pain in the upper area. Most patients report severe respiratory distress and a very tight chest tightness. The study results are in the science magazine „Lancet“ appeared. (Sb)

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