A risk doubled, even quadrupled: heart attack, stroke, hypertension… living near an airport increases the risks

Vivre à proximité d’un aéroport augmente les risques d'infarctus, d'AVC, d'hypertension.

Trop de bruit est mauvais pour la santé. Preuve supplémentaire avec un travail britannique montrant que vivre près d’un aéroport et être exposé aux sons des avions augmente la probabilité d’infarctus du myocarde, d’arythmies cardiaques et d’accidents vasculaires cérébraux.

Several studies have already highlighted the harmful effect of aircraft noise on blood pressure. But the cardiovascular damage does not stop there. Researchers from University College London examined detailed cardiac imaging data from 3,635 people living near four major airports in England.

They compared the hearts of those who lived in areas where aircraft noise was highest with those who lived where the noise was lowest.

Result: where the sounds were higher than recommended levels, the heart muscles were stiffer and thicker, contracted and expanded less easily and were less effective at pumping blood around the body. Effects are particularly marked at night, probably due to sleep disruption.

“Noise is harmful to our health”

According to the analyses, these anomalies could multiply by two to four the risk of major cardiac events such as myocardial infarction, serious arrhythmias or strokes.

As explained by Dr. Gaby Captur, cardiologist and main author of this work, “ the noise of our environment can cause the release of cortisol, the stress hormone and lead to an overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, causing an increase in blood pressure, a constriction or a dilation of the arteries…“.

“Our study is observational, so we cannot say with certainty that high levels of aircraft noise caused these differences in cardiac structure and function“, he takes the time to clarify. “However, our results add to a growing body of evidence showing that these noises harm our health in general and our heart health in particular.“

How to take care of our hearts ?

While the role of noise on heart health is still being studied, there are many ways to take care of your heart:

By adopting a healthy and balanced diet; By staying physically active; By quitting smoking; By reducing your alcohol consumption.