Why Heart Attack Survivors Should Not Stay Near Major Road?

Heart attack is a common name for myocardial infarction (MI) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI). It occurs as a result of interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing some heart cells to die. In serious cases, victims could end up with death.

 

Patients who survive heart attack usually have to comply with strict blood pressure management and lifestyle changes including quit smoking, exercise regularly, limit alcohol intake and eat healthy diet. Of course, they will be started on long-term medications as well.

 

Meanwhile, a recent study pointed out that heart attack survivors should avoid living near major road as this might be hazardous for their health.

 

Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that heart attack survivors living about 300 feet (100 meters) from a major roadway at the time of their heart attack were 27 percent more likely to die over the next 10 years compared with those who living at least 3,200 feet (1,000 m) away from a roadway. Those who lived between 650 to 3,200 feet (200 to 1,000 m) away from a roadway had a 13 percent higher risk of dying in the next decade.

 

The findings, which were published in the May 7, 2012’s issue of the journal ‘Circulation’, suggested that exposure to air pollution and traffic noise from the roadway might be the cause.

 

3,547 people, who were hospitalized for a heart attack at 64 medical centers in the United States between 1989 and 1996, were involved in the study. Their average age was 62.

 

Over the follow-up period of 10 year, 1,071 participants died: 63 percent of cardiovascular disease, 12 percent of cancer, 4 percent of respiratory failure and 0.4 percent in traffic accidents. Patients living nearer to a major roadway had a higher chance of dying during the follow-up period, even after taking account into several factors that might affect a person’s risk of death including age, smoking status, proximity to a hospital and household income.

 

According to researchers, their study was limited in that they did not know if participants moved after their heart attack, or if new roadways were built closer to participants' homes. Nevertheless, either of these scenarios could affect the results.

 

No doubt the study did find a link between proximity to major roads and mortality. But unfortunately, it did not prove that one lead to the other.