(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 23 - On days with the highest levels of pollution there is a peak in cases of potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias.
This is what emerges from an Italian study presented at Heart Failure 2022, the scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology underway in Madrid until 24 May.
"We observed that emergency room visits for patients with arrhythmia who had an implantable defibrillator tended to concentrate on days with particularly high levels of pollution," says the first signer of the study Alessia Zanni, of the Maggiore hospital in Bologna.
Hence the idea of carrying out a study that would try to relate the two phenomena.
The research was conducted in Piacenza and included 146 patients who had previously received the implant of an implantable defibrillator: the devices were used to detect the appearance of arrhythmias.
Researchers recorded 440 cases of ventricular arrhythmias, observing a correlation with air pollution levels.
In particular, for every 1 μg / m3 increase in PM2.5 levels there was a 1.5% increase in the risk of arrhythmias; in cases where PM2.5 levels were 1 μg / m3 above the mean for a full week there was an increase of 2.4%.
The case of PM10 is analogous.
"Our research suggests that people at high risk for ventricular arrhythmia, such as those with an implantable defibrillator, should check for daily pollution levels," Zanni says.
"When PM2.5 and PM10 dust concentrations are high (above 35μg / m3 and 50 μg / m3 respectively) it might be wise to stay home as much as possible and wear an N95 mask if you go outside, especially in areas with a lot of traffic."
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