• Novel cardiovascular risk factors: air pollution, air temperature, pain, and sleep duration

    For the podcast associated with this article, please visit https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/pages/Podcasts. Traditionally, we have used age, gender, body mass index, blood pressure, lipids, smoking, and diabetes to assess cardiovascular (CV) risk. However, up until recently, the CV risk provided by environemental hazards such as pollution,1–3 noise,4–6 temperature,7 sleep duration8, and air quality,9,10 among others, have been
  • 2018-02-13

    Environmental noise and the cardiovascular system

    Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that environmental noise from traffic, aircraft, and railways is linked to serious cardiovascular health risks, including high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. Studies in both humans and animals show that aircraft noise — especially at night — triggers stress hormones and harmful oxidative stress in blood vessels, impairing their ability to function properly. These findings suggest that airport noise exposure is not just a quality-of-life issue but a measurable public health concern with direct effects on heart and vascular health.