Frequent traffic noise increases your risk of heart attack-Researchers

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Although environmental noise has been identified as one of the major pollutants of the society years back, but has not been linked to sudden death. Recent findings have revealed that exposure to constant barrage of traffic noise raises the risk of a heart attack.

Those who live close to main roads or railway lines are most at risk, researchers’ discovered. According to the findings published on Mail Online, it was stated  that constant stream of sounds from cars, trains or planes puts the body under stress, increasing the risk of a myocardial infarction (MI) – the medical name for a heart attack.

The researchers who examined information from state health insurers of over a million Germans over 40 living in Rhine-Main region of Germany, it showed that where they lived was matched precisely to road, rail, and traffic noise exposure measurements for 2005.

The report indicated that patients who died of heart attack up to 2014/2015, a statistically significant link was found between noise exposure and the risk of heart attack.

The results showed  an association between noise from road, rail and air traffic, and heart attack. They found a lower risk linked to noise by aircraft – and said this can be explained by the fact that – unlike road and rail traffic noise – aircraft noise never remains continuously above 65 decibels.

Scientists say they found a correlation between noise exposure and the risk of heart attack due to the increase in ‘psychological and physiological stress’ on the body.

Professor Dr Andreas Seidler, of the Technical University Dresden said: ‘Traffic noise can trigger complex psychological and physiological stress reactions.

He added it activates the sympathetic nervous system – which controls the ‘fight or flight response’ raising blood pressure and pulse – which over time can damage the cardiovascular system.

It also activates the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis – our central stress response system.   He continued: ‘The World Health Organisation estimates that in the western part of Europe at least one million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are lost due to diseases induced by traffic noise.’

Thus, the import of this to our society is that those people living along city centres like Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Ibadan, etc, need to soundproof their apartments if possible if they want to live long, because frequent traffic noise could be deadly.

To before warned, is to before armed, beware!