[h=1]Wildfire smoke could send more seniors to the ER for heart, stroke issues[/h] [h=5]April 11, 2018,
American Heart Association[/h] Smoke from wildfires, particularly for people 65 and older, could cause an increase in emergency room visits for heart and brain-related issues, according to new research.
The study, published Wednesday in the
Journal of the American Heart Association, was one of the most extensive of wildfire health impacts in California. It looked at the effects of an entire fire season in 2015 that burned more than 800,000 acres. The research ? which combined data on more than a million ER visits with NASA satellite images of the fires ? concluded that on dense smoke days ER visits by seniors for all heart-related ailments increased by 15 percent. Visits for heart attacks spiked by 42 percent, and by 22 percent for stroke-related issues.
Previous research has focused mostly on the breathing effects of wildfire smoke, with less clarity about its effects on the heart. But "we found very strong associations with cardiovascular effects," said study co-author Dr. Wayne E. Cascio, director of the Environmental Protection Agency's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
