Acute Exposure to Excess Ozone Could Lead to Cardiac Arrest

Exposure to higher ozone concentrations is significantly linked to a higher risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), according to a presentation at the American Heart Association's Resuscitation Science Symposium 2020.

The virtual meeting will take place from November 14-16, 2020 and will feature the most recent advances in treating cardiopulmonary arrest and life-threatening traumatic injury.

Cardiac Arrest - Causes, Symptoms, Risk factors, Complications, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops beating abruptly due to an electrical malfunction. Blood flow to vital organs is cut off causing unconsciousness.

‘Ozone and particulate matter in the air on any given day are linked to a higher risk of an individual experiencing cardiac arrest outside the hospital.’
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Previous studies including a 2010 scientific statement from the American Heart Association deemed ambient air pollutants a "modifiable factor that contributes to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality."

"Air pollutants have been associated with increased mortality in the U.S., however, it is unknown whether ozone and particulate matter in the air on any given day are associated with a higher risk of an individual experiencing cardiac arrest outside of the hospital," said Ali Malik, M.D., M.Sc., a clinical cardiology and cardiovascular outcomes research fellow at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Gladstone, Missouri, and lead author of the study.

Researchers used data from the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival. This study included 187,000 individuals with non-traumatic OHCA during 2013-2016 aged 63 years on average. 61% were men and 53% were non-white.

The results found that for every 12 parts per billion (ppb) raise in the ozone level, the odds of a OHCA increased by 1%, which is statistically significant. However, there was no link between particulate matter concentration and OHCA, and no difference in risk for air-quality-related OHCA tied to age, sex or race.

"We found that a higher concentration of ozone on the day the out of hospital cardiac arrest occurred was significantly associated with a higher risk," Malik said. "Importantly, we found that the relationship between ozone and risk of OHCA was present even at concentrations below the EPA air quality standard. These findings may have important public health implications."

Malik added, "Mechanisms by which acute ozone exposure increases the risk of cardiac arrest need to be better defined. It is important to limit exposure to high ozone levels, and we need more aggressive measures to decrease ambient air ozone concentrations."

Malik noted that this is an observational study and exposure to air pollutants was derived from outdoor estimates. Further study is needed to assess the exact relationship between air pollution and cardiac arrest.

Source-Medindia