Exposure to car noise may increase the risk of hypertension, according to a new study published in the journal JACC: Advances that examined over 240,000 participants.
Older studies have proven a causal link between exposure to noise and high blood pressure. However, these studies did not assess whether it was the noise or the increased air pollution that caused the increased blood pressure. “Since noisy areas also tend to have a high level of air pollution, the question is whether each of them contributes independently to the risk and this was indeed the case. Living in noisy and polluted areas increased the risk of hypertension,” the senior author and professor of cardiology told CNN and Vascular and Environmental Health at the University of Oxford, Kazem Rahimi.
The researchers collected data from participants aged 40-69 who did not have high blood pressure at baseline. Of the 240,000 participants, 21,140 participants developed cases of primary hypertension. Incidence rates of hypertension increased when air pollution was at high levels.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “High blood pressure is when the pressure in your blood vessels is too high (140/90 mm Hg or higher). It’s common but can be significant if left untreated.” According to MedicalDaily.com, hypertension affects 50% of Americans over the age of 20. According to the World Health Organization, untreated hypertension can lead to a myriad of conditions such as angina, attacks heart, heart failure, irregular heartbeat and sudden death.