Newswise,
November 9, 2015— People with heart disease face an increased risk of a serious
heart attack during poor air quality days, according to a major new study
presented today (Sunday, Nov. 8) at the American Heart Association Scientific
Session in Orlando.
The
study of more than 16,000 patients by researchers at the Intermountain Medical
Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City examined patients who had suffered
three types of heart attacks – STEMI, non-STEMI, and unstable angina – to
identify which type of heart attack was more likely on days when the air was
especially polluted.
For
the study, researchers compared air quality measurements to the number of
patients treated for heart attacks at Intermountain Healthcare hospitals in the
urban areas in and around Salt Lake City between Sept. 1993 and May 2014.
The
Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute research team identified a strong
association between bad air quality days – those with a threshold above 25
micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter of air – with a greater
risk of STEMIs, the most dangerous type of heart attack.
Findings
of the study were reported at the 2015 American Heart Association Scientific
Session in Orlando on Sunday, November 8, 2015.
“Our
research indicated that during poor air quality days, namely those with high
levels of PM2.5, patients with heart disease are at a higher risk of suffering
from a STEMI heart attack,” said Kent Meredith, MD, cardiologist and researcher
at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute.
A
ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI, is a serious form of a
heart attack in which a coronary artery is completely blocked and a large part
of the heart muscle is unable to receive blood.
If left untreated for too long,
the lack of oxygen to the heart will damage the heart muscles and cause
irreparable damage or death.
“By
making this association, physicians can better counsel their heart patients to
avoid exposure to poor air quality, and thus decrease their chances of
suffering a heart attack on days that they are potentially at highest risk,”
said Dr. Meredith.
“The
study suggests that during many yellow air quality days, and all red quality
air days, people with known coronary artery disease may be safer if they limit
their exposure to particulate matter in the air by exercising indoors, limiting
their time outdoors, avoiding stressful activities, and remaining compliant
with medications,” said Dr. Meredith.
“These
activities can reduce inflammation in the arteries, and therefore make patients
less sensitive to the fine particulate matter present on poor air quality
days.”
Other
members of the study include C. Arden Pope; Joseph B. Muhlestein, MD; Jeffrey
L. Anderson, MD; John B Cannon, Nicholas M. Hales; Viet Le; and Benjamin Horne.
Intermountain
Medical Center is the flagship facility for the Intermountain Healthcare
system, which is based in Salt Lake City.
No comments:
Post a Comment