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 “Finer particulate matter is present in extremely high concentration
in smoke,” said lead author Anjali Haikerwal of the Center for
Occupational and Environmental Health at Monash University in
Victoria.
“These particles are harmful because they are small and easily
inhaled,” Haikerwal told Reuters Health. The respiratory risks are
well-known, but heart risks have been harder to analyze, she said.
Past research has shown that tiny soot particles from combustion -
such as vehicle exhaust or power plants - that are 2.5 micrometers
or smaller can be inhaled and enter the bloodstream. This so-called
PM 2.5 air pollution has been linked to inflammation and heart
disease.
In December 2006 and January 2007, Victoria experienced a
long-running series of wildfires that burned about one million
hectares (2.4 million acres) of land.
The researchers used medical records to determine the number of
out-of-hospital cardiac arrests among people age 35 or older in the
metropolitan Melbourne region and in more rural areas of Victoria,
which has a total population of more than five million.
They also modeled the smoke dispersion during the wildfire period,
predicting regional air quality based on the location and intensity
of the fires.
As reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association, there
were 457 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, 2,106 emergency department
visits and 3,274 hospital admissions for coronary artery disease
during the fire period.
Accounting for temperature and relative humidity, the researchers
found that as the concentration of fine particulates in the air
increased over about a two-day period, the risk for cardiac arrest
among men and people over age 65 increased. The risk for ER visits
due to coronary artery disease also rose, particularly among women.
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Fine particulates are much more abundant in wildfire smoke than in
traffic or industrial pollution, Haikerwal said.
“We advise the general population . . . to stay indoors, to maintain
medication, if they are worried at any stage due to a health
condition to seek immediate help,” Haikerwal said.
Although this was only an observational study and did not establish
cause and effect, the results may influence public health messaging
in areas prone to wildfires, like Australia, she said.
Residents are already alerted to wildfire events in Australia, but
the messaging could be further targeted to the elderly or people
with preexisting conditions, who are at highest risk, she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1f4U4k9 Journal of the American Heart
Association, online July 15, 2015.
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