Wildfire, as you may be aware, can cause lungs problems but how about heart-related problems? A study done by an Indian origin researcher, Dr Anjali Haikerwal from the Occupational and Environmental Health Center of Monash University claimed that wildfire is the root of strokes, cardiac arrests and other heart related problems.
Well, you may wonder how these smokes go to the heart and this will be analyzed and explained in a short time. While breathing, we usually inhale very tiny pollutants from the air which go directly to our lungs. From this time forth, the heart gets an inflammation which is the reason why the muscles around the heart weakens. Being very small, they enter the blood vessels with no trouble and consequently cause permanent damages to cells or organs they are going through. These particulars have been measured to be less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, a study has shown and it was done in areas where vehicle exhausts are particularly high.
During the year 2006 and 2007, as you may remember, near Victoria in Australia that 2.5 million acres of land caught fire and the small air pollutants exceeded the quality of air limit. A study was made that year to know which surrounding areas in Melbourne as well as the vicinity of Victoria had more air pollution. In fact, information and medical logs on the gathered patients was prepared to evaluate the number of heart attacks. They concluded that 3, 274 admissions were due to coronary artery problems and 457 heart attacks happened outside the hospital.
The Dr. Haikerwal stated that during Wildfire periods it is very essential for people affected to seek medical help at the earliest possible. It is always good to take precautionary measures during a fire. As the study explained, people above 65 years old are at higher risk of getting a disease related to the heart during wildfire smoke exposure. For years now, smoke has been disastrous to the health of people around the globe. And with advanced studies, we can conclude that wildfire smoke affects not only the lungs but the heart as well. It is better to stay indoors when there’s wildfire and this goes especially for aged persons.
