MANHASSET, NY The fine particles of pollution that hang in the air can increase the risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study conducted by a team from Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.
Robert A. Silverman, MD, and his colleagues have been interested in the effects of ambient fine particulate matter on a number of medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease and asthma. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) keeps tabs on air pollution through dozens of strategically placed pollution sensors in cities and towns throughout the country. This data allowed the researchers to collect data on average 24-hour values of small particulates and other gaseous pollutants around New York City during the summer (when pollution is higher) and winter months. They then compared that data to the 8,216 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that occurred between 2002 and 2006. Most people in the throes of a cardiac arrest do not survive in time for emergency medical service teams to save them.
What they were looking for was simple: Were there more cardiac arrests on high pollution days than on lower pollution days? In the American Journal of Epidemiology, Dr. Silverman and his fellow researchers reported that for a 10ug/m3 rise in small particle air pollution, there was a four-to-10 percent increase in the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. The current EPA standard is 35ug/m3. The effect was much greater in the summer months, said Dr. Silverman, an associate professor of emergency medicine and director of research at LIJ's Department of Emergency Medicine. The scientists also evaluated levels of ozone, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide, but these showed a much weaker relationship. Analysis of the data from the death records and the 33 EPA monitors was conducted in collaboration with Kazuhiko Ito, PhD, an assistant professor at the Nelson Institute of
'/>"/>
| Contact: Jamie Talan jtalan@nshs.edu 516-465-1232 North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Satellite data reveal seasonal pollution changes over India
2. UM advanced bio-filtration system promises less Chesapeake pollution
3. New research aims to unravel how phosphorus pollution drives toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes
4. NASA satellite improves pollution monitoring
5. Super socks help stem pollution runoff
6. Online release of North American industrial pollution data reveals significant reporting gaps
7. MERMAID opens prospect of cleaner seas with pollution early warning system
8. Air pollution doesnt increase risk of preeclampsia, early delivery, study finds
9. Ultrafine particles in air pollution may heighten allergic inflammation in asthma
10. Nitrogen pollution alters global change scenarios from the ground up
11. Posidonia meadows reflect pollution levels in the Mediterranean
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |