Newswise — Can air pollution harm your heart? A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found that short-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a higher risk of irregular heartbeat, known as arrhythmia, in 322 cities in China. https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.220929.
Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter are common heart conditions that affect millions of people worldwide. These conditions can lead to more severe heart diseases. Air pollution is a factor that can be changed to reduce the risk of heart disease, but there has been inconsistent evidence linking it to irregular heartbeats.
Chinese researchers looked at data from 2025 hospitals in 322 cities to investigate whether there is a link between air pollution and the sudden onset of arrhythmia symptoms. Air pollution levels in China exceed the World Health Organization's recommended limits, and the researchers used data from the monitoring stations nearest to the hospitals to conduct their analyses.
Dr. Renjie Chen, along with coauthors, stated that their study found a link between acute exposure to air pollution and an increased risk of symptomatic arrhythmia. The risk was found to occur within a few hours of exposure and could persist for up to 24 hours. The relationship between the concentration of air pollutants and the risk of arrhythmias was approximately linear, without any clear threshold.
In the study, there were 190,115 patients who had a sudden onset of symptomatic arrhythmia. This includes different types of heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, premature beats originating in either the atria or ventricles of the heart, and supraventricular tachycardia.
According to the study, exposure to air pollution was most strongly linked with atrial flutter and supraventricular tachycardia, followed by atrial fibrillation and premature beats. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) had the strongest association with all four types of arrhythmias among the six pollutants examined in the study, and the higher the exposure to NO2, the stronger the association with arrhythmias.
The authors of the study say that the link between air pollution and the sudden onset of arrhythmia is believable. They explain that air pollution may cause stress and inflammation in the body, which affects the way the heart works. They also suggest that air pollution may harm the nervous system that controls the heart's rhythm.
The authors note that the association was immediate and underscores the need to protect at-risk people during heavy air pollution.
The authors of the study emphasize the importance of reducing exposure to air pollution and protecting susceptible populations from the adverse cardiovascular effects of air pollution.
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