(Press-News.org) This news release is available in Spanish.
Sophia Antipolis, France – 08 October 2013: Air pollution increases heart attacks, according to research that will be presented at the Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2013 by Dr Savina Nodari from Brescia, Italy. The Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2013 is the annual meeting of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). It will take place from Saturday 12 to 14 October in Madrid, Spain. Cutting edge science and the latest treatments in acute cardiovascular care will be presented by scientists from across the world.
Dr Nodari said: "In the last few decades there has been a worrying increase in air pollution. Regardless of local environmental and social policies to approve air quality, the negative effect of air pollution continues to be an important public health problem."
She added: "Some studies conducted in Europe and the US have reported an association between air pollution, especially fine and ultrafine particles which are measured as particulate matter (PM) 10, and not only respiratory disease but also acute cardiovascular events and deaths. The European Union has set a PM10 safety threshold of 50 micrograms/m3 but the negative effect of PM10 on the cardiovascular system may occur at levels lower than this cut off."1
The current study set out to confirm the association between levels of PM10, which is a marker of general air pollution, and the risk of acute cardiovascular events. It also examined individual susceptibility to cardiovascular events during high PM10 levels. Data was collected on daily hospitalisations for cardiac events (acute coronary syndrome, acute heart failure, malignant ventricular arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation) and average daily concentrations of PM10 in Brescia during 2004 to 2007.
The study found a significant association between PM10 levels and admission for acute cardiovascular events such as acute coronary syndromes, heart failure, worsening heart failure, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias. The effect was linear, with a 3% increase in admissions for every 10 microgram increase in PM10.
Dr Nodari said: "Brescia is one of the most industrialised areas in the North of Italy and according to the European Environmental Agency it has average daily PM10 levels higher than the safety threshold of 50 micrograms/m3. This high level of air pollution is clearly having a bad effect on heart health."
The researchers also found that older people (>65 years) and men were particularly susceptible to having arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation or acute coronary syndromes at increasing levels of air pollution. Dr Nodari said: "This may be related to a higher prevalence of comorbidities and greater fragility of the cardiovascular and circulatory system associated with ageing."
Another finding was that cardiovascular hospitalisation during a higher level of PM10 occurred more often in patients who had previously been hospitalised for a cardiovascular event. Dr Nodari said: "We need to pay particular attention to protecting patients who are older and who have had a previous heart attack or other heart problem, as they are more vulnerable to having another cardiac event."
She added: "Previous studies support the hypothesis that air pollution may increase cardiovascular event rates because PM10 can induce processes that are bad for the heart including inflammation and coagulation."
Dr Nodari continued: "Air pollution is a big problem because we can't protect people if we are unable to improve the air quality where they live. To protect public health, national policies need to consider other sources of energy for cars, industry and domestic use which may include electricity, wind energy, photovoltaic systems or nuclear energy. Many people think nuclear energy is not a good alternative and I agree, but we have such high levels of air pollution now that we have to seriously look at the alternative options."
She concluded: "The current PM10 threshold of 50 micrograms/m3 is too high because at this level we observed an increase in hospitalisations for heart diseases. The cut off should be reduced to 20 - 30 micrograms/m3, or even less if possible, because like cholesterol the risk is continuous – the higher the levels the greater the risk. If we can obtain a lower level of PM10 probably we will lower the risk of heart disease."
INFORMATION:
Authors:
ESC Press Office
press@escardio.org
Office: +33(0)4 92 94 77 56 or 86 27
Cellphone: +33(0)6 22 41 84 92
References:
1 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32008L0050:EN:NOT. DIRECTIVE 2008/50/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe
Notes to editor
About the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) represents more than 80,000 cardiology professionals across Europe and the Mediterranean. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe.
About the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA)
The Acute Cardiovascular Care Association (ACCA) is a registered branch of the ESC, representing over 4,000 health professionals. ACCA aims at improving the quality of care and outcomes of patients with acute cardiovascular diseases through state of the art education and training on the best strategies of treatment and by influencing and advising healthcare professionals, scientists, decision-makers, policy-makers, the media, and allied societies in acute cardiovascular care.
Information for journalists attending Acute Cardiac Care 2013
The Acute Cardiac Care Congress 2013 takes place 12-14 October in Madrid, Spain, at the Hotel Auditorium. The full scientific programme is available here
http://spo.escardio.org/default.aspx?eevtid=64
Press registration is conducted via My ESC (Individual Registration / Press). Click here:
http://www.escardio.org/congresses/acute-cardiac-care-2013/registration-hotels/Pages/registration.aspx
Free registration applies to press representatives upon receipt of valid credentials and a fully completed embargo form (to be sent to press@escardio.org)
Credential: either your ID press card or letter of assignment with proof of 3 published articles
The ESC Press Office will check your credential and confirm your press accreditation by email
Press registration is not available to Industry or its Public Relations representatives, event management, marketing or communications representatives
The decision of the ESC Press Office is final regarding all press registration requests
The ESC Press Office will verify the documents and confirm by email that your Press Accreditation is valid
Online Press Registration is open until 3 October 2013. After this date, please register on site
Air pollution increases heart attacks
2013-10-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Metabolically engineered E. coli producing phenol
2013-10-08
Many chemicals we use in everyday life are derived from fossil resources. Due to the increasing concerns on the use of fossil resources, there has been much interest in producing chemicals from renewable resources through biotechnology.
Phenol is an important commodity chemical, and is a starting material for the production of numerous industrial chemicals and polymers, including bisphenol A and phenolic resins, and others. At present, the production of phenol entirely depends on the chemical synthesis from benzene, and its annual production exceeds 8 million tons worldwide. ...
New information is discovered about the ancestry of Ashkenazi Jews
2013-10-08
Professor Martin Richards, of the Archaeogenetics Research Group at the University of Huddersfield, has published a paper uncovering new information about how Ashkenazi Jewish men moved into Europe from the Middle East, and their marriage practices with European women.
The origins of Ashkenazi Jews – that is, Jews with recent ancestry in central and Eastern Europe – is a long-standing controversy. It is usually assumed that their ancestors migrated into Europe from Palestine in the first century AD, after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans, with some intermarriage ...
Major leap towards graphene for solar cells
2013-10-08
Graphene has extreme conductivity and is completely transparent while being inexpensive and nontoxic. This makes it a perfect candidate material for transparent contact layers for use in solar cells to conduct electricity without reducing the amount of incoming light - at least in theory. Whether or not this holds true in a real world setting is questionable as there is no such thing as "ideal" graphene - a free floating, flat honeycomb structure consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms: interactions with adjacent layers can change graphene's properties dramatically. ...
First ever evidence of a comet striking Earth
2013-10-08
The first ever evidence of a comet entering Earth's atmosphere and exploding, raining down a shock wave of fire which obliterated every life form in its path, has been discovered by a team of South African scientists and international collaborators.
The discovery has not only provided the first definitive proof of a comet striking Earth, millions of years ago, but it could also help us to unlock, in the future, the secrets of the formation of our solar system.
"Comets always visit our skies – they're these dirty snowballs of ice mixed with dust – but never before in ...
Study shows snacking on almonds decreased appetite without increasing body weight
2013-10-08
MODESTO, Calif., Oct. 8, 2013 -- A new study published in the October issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that study participants eating 1.5 ounces of dry-roasted, lightly salted almonds every day experienced reduced hunger and improved dietary vitamin E and monounsaturated ("good") fat intake without increasing body weight.[i]
Snacking has become nearly universal behavior in the United States, with an estimated 97% of Americans consuming at least one snack per day.[ii] In light of increasing snacking frequency[ii] and snack size[iii] among U.S. ...
Studying the social side of carnivores
2013-10-08
EAST LANSING, Mich. — The part of the brain that makes humans and primates social creatures may play a similar role in carnivores, according to a growing body of research by a Michigan State University neuroscientist.
In studying spotted hyenas, lions and, most recently, the raccoon family, Sharleen Sakai has found a correlation between the size of the animals' frontal cortex and their social nature.
In her latest study, Sakai examined the digitally recreated brains of three species in the Procyonid family – the raccoon, the coatimundi and the kinkajou – and found the ...
A potential new strategy to face dementia
2013-10-08
Ancona, Italy, 8 October 2013 – Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects millions of people worldwide. As a result of an increase in life expectancy, the number of patients with dementia is expected to increase dramatically. Due to the lack of effective treatments that can slow down or reverse the progression of AD, preventive measures to lower the prevalence rate of AD by means of managing potential or actual risk factors is a reasonable clinical strategy. In this respect, identifying treatable factors which are able to promote cognitive deterioration would have important practical ...
No viral cause for breast cancer and brain tumors
2013-10-08
A major study conducted at the Sahlgrenska Academy has now disproved theories of a viral cause for breast cancer and the brain tumour, glioblastoma. The study, which was based on over seven billion DNA sequences and which is published in Nature Communications, found no genetic traces of viruses in these forms of cancer.
It has been scientifically proven that about 15 per cent of all cancer cases are the result of viral infection, but many researchers believe that even more cancers could be caused by viruses. Among other theories, it is suggested that the Epstein-Barr ...
Something in the (expecting mother's) water
2013-10-08
Pregnant women living in areas with contaminated drinking water may be more likely to have babies that are premature or with low birth weights (considered less than 5.5 pounds), according to a study based at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Featured in the Canadian Journal of Economics, the study shows that the effects of contaminated water—which include numerous cognitive and developmental impairments—are particularly significant for babies born to less-educated mothers. These mothers also are less likely to uproot from ...
Solving the internet capacity crunch
2013-10-08
With optical fibre networks gradually approaching their theoretical capacity limits, new types of fibres such as multicore fibres have been at the focus of worldwide research to overcome critical capacity barriers, which threaten the evolution of the Internet. The University of Bristol in collaboration with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have demonstrated successfully for the first time a multicore fibre-based network, which will form the foundation for the future Internet infrastructure.
The research relies on Space Division ...