Exposure to Pollution and Heart Attack Risk

The effects of hourly differences in air pollution on the risk of myocardial infarction: case crossover analysis of the MINAP database (Abstract, Krishnan Bhaskaran, Shakoor Hajat, Ben Armstrong, Andy Haines, Emily Herrett, Paul Wilkinson, Liam Smeeth, BMJ, Sep.20, 2011)

Also discussed here: High Pollution Levels Linked to Increase in Heart Attack Risk (ScienceDaily, Sep. 20, 2011)

And here: Cardiovascular effects of exposure to air pollution (Editorial, Simon Hales & Richard Edwards, BMJ, Sep. 20,2011)

Today’s review article looks at how long after exposure to high levels of pollution is there a heightened risk of a heart attack. Results indicate a period of 6 hours but this may be the result of the pollution causing a heart attack to occur earlier for a patient with an existing risk of heart attack.

Key Quotes:

“In single pollutant models, PM10 and NO2 levels were associated with a very short term increase in risk of myocardial infarction 1–6 hours later”

“High levels of pollution could increase the risk of having a heart attack for up to six hours after exposure..to specific pollutants in the atmosphere….pollutant particles (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone”

“transiently increased risk of myocardial infarction 1–6 hours after exposure, but later reductions in risk suggest that air pollution may be associated with bringing events forward in time (“short-term displacement”) rather than increasing overall risk”

“"given other evidence that exposure to air pollution increases overall mortality and morbidity, the case for stringent controls on pollutant levels remains strong."”

Related articles

• High pollution levels linked to increase in heart attack risk (eurekalert.org)
• Exposure to Air Pollution and Heart Attacks (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)
• Traffic Pollution May Raise Short-Term Heart Attack Risk (nlm.nih.gov)
• Higher Heart Attack Risk Associated With Increased Pollution Levels (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Traffic fumes can trigger heart attacks, say researchers (guardian.co.uk)
• Exposure to air pollution can increase your risk of heart attack within hours [Health] (io9.com)
• Pollution 'raises heart risk' (lv.com)
• Pollution linked to heart attacks (independent.co.uk)
• Car fumes 'trigger heart attacks' (bbc.co.uk)
• Car pollution fast-tracks heart attacks, study says (cbsnews.com)
• Comparing the Health Risks of Smoking and Air Pollution (pollutionfree.wordpress.com)