Cardiovascular disease is common and the risk factors that contribute to the disease are known. According to a new study, aircraft noise should be added to the list of factors that contribute to heart attacks.
Heart failure caused by a heart attack, known as a myocardial infarction, is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, there is a myocardial infarction every 40 seconds. In Australia, in 2020, the number of “acute coronary events” – which includes MI and unstable angina – in people aged 25 and over was 155 per day, reported the New Atlas.
Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, obesity, unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle. Now researchers at the University Medical Center in Mainz, Germany, have added exposure to aircraft noise to that list.
Previous studies have confirmed that noise generated by aircraft, road and rail traffic causes the body releases stress hormones, leading to an inflammatory response. Inflammation of blood vessels, one of the telltale signs of cardiovascular disease, increases the risk of heart attack.
In the study, recently published in Cardiovascular Researchresearchers examined the mechanisms underlying heart and blood vessel inflammation and how exposure to aircraft noise affects these mechanisms.
To do so, they exposed rats to aircraft noise 24 hours a day for four days. The noise reached an average of 72 decibels and a peak of 85 decibels. For comparison, a normal conversation varies between 60 and 70 decibels, an alarm clock from 70 to 80 decibels, and a vacuum cleaner between 60 and 80 decibels.
Tests showed that exposure to noise caused inflammatory cells to adhere to heart tissue and blood vessels. Next, the researchers induced a myocardial infarction in the rats.
Rats exposed to noise before the infarction showed a deterioration in cardiac function and a larger area of cardiac muscle injury after the incident, caused by increased immune response.
The study demonstrates that noise can lead to an inflammatory response that negatively affects cardiac function. After a myocardial infarction, pre-exposure to noise exacerbates the body’s response, causing more heart muscle damage and greater impairment.
The researchers compared their data with data collected by the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS), a long-term population study of more than 15,000 individuals. The team found that the negative effects of aircraft noise on cardiac function in rats have also been seen in humans.
“We learned from our studies that exposure to aircraft noise prior to myocardial infarction substantially amplifies subsequent cardiovascular inflammation and worsens ischemic heart failure,” said Michael Molitor and Philip Wenzel, lead authors of the study.
Researchers suggest that exposure to environmental noise is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
ZAP // 
