Researchers at the University of Southern California analyzed two
previous trials including 800 people over the age of 40 and found
that those who lived in areas with more pollution had worse cases
of atherosclerotic disease of the carotid arteries (hardening of
the arteries) - a sign of heart disease. With worsening pollution
there was a corresponding worsening in the condition of the carotid
arteries. The effects of pollution on the arteries was even more
damaging in women on cholesterol lowering prescription-drugs or if
they were postmenopausal. There is a very clear and strong association
between air pollution and the level of atherosclerosis (hardening
of the arteries).
Researchers at Toulouse University in France compared pollution
levels and the effect on heart events in over 400,000 local
inhabitants in France. Elevated ozone levels were strongly
connected to cardiac arrest (the heart suddenly stops beating),
heart attack and acute chest pain. There is a strong link between
even short-term exposure to ozone within one or two days and severe
heart events. The studies were presented at the current meeting of
the American Heart Association in New Orleans.
Bextra Increases Heart Attack and Stroke Risk
Leading heart researcher Garret Fitzgerald, MD, PharmD, of the
University of Pennsylvania says that Bextra, a painkilling,
anti-inflammatory drug similar to the drug Celebrex, increases the
risk of heart attack and stroke, and may pose a greater risk than
Vioxx. The drug Vioxx was recently withdrawn from the market by its
manufacturer because of a definite increase in the number of strokes,
heart attacks, and death in Vioxx users. Vioxx was also causing high
blood pressure, swelling of the body, and heart failure. In his
study Dr Fitzgerald looked at the use of Bextra in greater than
2,000 heart bypass surgery patients and almost 5,700 arthritis
patients. The study shows that Bextra more than doubled the risk
of both heart attack and stroke in all patients and that the
evidence indicates Bextra may be more dangerous than Vioxx. Recently
an announcement was made by the drugs manufacturer that Bextra
increases the risk of rare but fatal skin conditions.
