cannabisnews.com: Study: Pollutants Can Trigger Heart Attack 





Study: Pollutants Can Trigger Heart Attack 
Posted by FoM on June 12, 2001 at 10:35:16 PT
By Seattle Times News Services 
Source: Seattle Times
 High levels of air pollution can trigger heart attacks in at-risk people exposed for even a short time, a study shows. Researchers who interviewed 772 Boston-area patients about four days after their attacks found that the onset of symptoms correlated with times of high daily air pollution. Tiny, invisible particles long have been thought to cause long-term cardiovascular diseases. The new study is the first to examine short-term effects, said senior author Dr. Murray Mittleman, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 
The study of 489 men and 283 women, conducted from January 1995 to May 1996, defined at-risk people as obese, inactive or those with a history of heart problems. Researchers noted that Boston does not have excessive pollution and meets federal air-quality standards, so the risk could be even worse in high-pollution cities such as Houston and Los Angeles. The results appear in today's edition of Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association. The particles are called PM-2.5, for particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. They are emitted by cars, power plants and industry, as well as fireplaces and wood-burning stoves. Studies in the past five years have linked deaths and hospital admissions to a spike in PM-2.5 levels. In the study, risk for heart attack peaked two hours and 24 hours after patients were exposed to increased levels of the particles. After two hours, risk increased 48 percent in the hours when pollution was the worst, compared with the best hours; after 24 hours, risk increased 62 percent. The study also examined health risks caused by ozone, a chief ingredient of smog created when air pollutants mix. Ozone has been linked to lung and breathing problems, but researchers in this study found no data linking it to heart attacks, Mittleman said. The study did not address how particles trigger attacks. Other studies have shown that the particles cause inflammation and blood clotting. Still other studies have shown that particles may create electrical reactions that affect the nervous system. "The best advice is to avoid outdoor activity on hot, hazy days," said study co-author Douglas Dockery, professor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard. Smoking pot quintuples risk of heart attack in middle-aged: Washington - The risk of a heart attack increases nearly five-fold during the first hour after smoking marijuana, posing a particular threat to middle-aged users of the drug, according to a study released yesterday. Researchers led by Dr. Murray Mittleman, director of cardiovascular epidemiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, interviewed 3,882 people who had suffered a heart attack as part of a study of factors linked to the ailment. The likelihood of suffering a heart attack was 4.8 times greater in the first hour after smoking marijuana when compared with periods of nonuse of the drug, Mittleman found. In the second hour, the risk was 1.7 times greater. No significant risk rise was seen in the third hour. Mittleman said that while the increased risk may be negligible for young marijuana users, it could be deadly for people at higher risk due to age or other factors. Smoking marijuana was far less risky than using cocaine, which raises the risk 25-fold during the first hour after use, the study found. The heightened risk from marijuana was roughly equivalent to vigorous exercise for someone of average fitness, and more dangerous than sexual intercourse for a sedentary person. Source: Seattle Times (WA)Published: June 12, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/Related Articles:Study Cites Heart Attack Peril for Older MJ Usershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10031.shtmlStudy Finds Using Marijuana Ups Heart Attack Riskhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10022.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by Anonymous on June 13, 2001 at 17:25:32 PT
Dismal "journalism"
The level of idiocy with these heart attack "studies" reaches a new low. Surveying heart attack victims, and then ascribing cause to some coincidental factor is laughable. Any college freshman would be given a failing grade if they turned in such "research" for credit. Why not ask the patients if they had watched TV? Or eaten pasta? Or breathed oxygen? And the "journalists" swallow it whole. Pathetic.
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Comment #4 posted by Doug on June 12, 2001 at 16:47:48 PT
Make Pollution Illegal
Perhaps it's time to make pollution illegal. Around here one of the bigger polluters is the automobile, and I live in an isolated area. You can imagine what it is in the Los Angeles area. I can see cops busting down the doors of car dealerships, and arresting people trying to sell used cars. And then of course there are the various dirty industries that are causing more then their share of pollution.Of course, I have a choice of whether or not I want to smoke a joint, but I don't realy have that much say so about how many people drive their cars in my city, and how long they let their motors run at a stoplight.This is typical: If you're lare enough, you can get away with, literally, murder.
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Comment #3 posted by Sudaca on June 12, 2001 at 15:06:43 PT
Pollution
I guess we'll have to get the compassionate United Federal Government of Amerika to prohibit living in cities for the sake of our children.I wonder what's the risk of dying of boredom without exercise, sex, pot and breathing hard. 
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on June 12, 2001 at 14:20:53 PT:
Thanks for the comment, lindy
I wanted to respond to the "This would only be news to SOME people" comment by the reporter for the Seattle Times. I wonder how many people who buy the newspaper actually read the financial section. I would guess that the number is quite low compared to the number that would take the time to read an article about a pro-cannabis march through the city. The fact is that they do not understand their own audience. Seattle is known for its large tech industry, one of the few industries that has, for the most part, not required random drug testing for its employees. I wonder how many people working for tech industries in Seattle smoke the herb? I wonder how many of them get the Seattle Times? I have a theory: My guess is that the Seattle Times, like most newspapers, drug tests its employees, and those who are thusly invaded on a regular basis have grown resentful of those who manage to get jobs without having to drug test. That is why they won't report the real news about cannabis, but they'll report results of junk science as established facts. They're jealous. And yes, I know, that doesn't make it right.Dan B
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Comment #1 posted by Lindy on June 12, 2001 at 12:56:50 PT:
Seattle Times keeps us in the dark....
 This article is printed by the same people who REFUSED to print ANYTHING about the Marijuana March last year. When in the wake of disastrous WTO demonstrations that portrayed our city as a violent and dangerous place, they [The Seattle Times] ignored a beautiful parade, as thousands [over 4,000!]of citizens from all walks of life marched peacefully [no citations, as in ZERO] through several miles of downtown city streets. From people in suits, to mothers with children in baby strollers, a sea of green balloons glinted brilliantly in the afternoon sun, and a good time was had by all. The Seattle Times did not report one word or print one photograph. When confronted, one reporter stated "This would only be considered news to SOME people." I had to refrain from screaming when I told him "If this had been a dog show, it would have been all over the front page!!" A BIG FAT "F" AND TWO THUMBS DOWN TO THE SEATTLE TIMES FOR THEIR BIASED SO CALLED JOURNALISM!!!
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