Traffic noise boosts blood pressure

You know that sitting in traffic can raise your blood pressure, but simply hearing noisy roadways can wreak havoc on your numbers, too. Researchers from Lund University Hospital in Sweden have found that people exposed to high levels of noise from nearby roads are more likely to report suffering from hypertension. As it turns out, all that noise also could lead to changes in heart rate and levels of stress hormones. In the study of 27,963 people living in southern Sweden, researchers found that approximately 30 percent of the population of the European Union are exposed to a round-the-clock average of traffic noise exceeding 55 decibels. Constant exposure above 60 decibels (about the volume of a normal conversation) was associated with high blood pressure among people ages 18 to 60. This could increase the risk for heart attack and stroke. Researchers embarked on this study to see if noisy roads affected people differently according to their gender and age—and the results show that if you live near loud traffic you might want to keep your windows closed. Limiting your exposure to the whooshing cars and honking horns could help protect you from hypertension.

Chest compressions key in lifesaving CPR

If you ever have to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on someone in cardiac arrest, focus on chest compressions, which move oxygen-filled blood to the heart and brain. The more you do, the more likely you are to save that person’s life, according to a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The proportion of time during CPR spent giving chest compressions is called the chest compression fraction (CCF). Researchers analyzed data from 78 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and looked at 506 people who had a cardiac arrest or other heart event before EMS arrived. The results? After a shock was delivered with a defibrillator, the heart started pumping on its own 58 percent of the time when the CCF was 0 to 20 percent, and up to 79 percent of the time when the CCF was 81 percent to 100 percent. Bottom line? Even if you’re hesitant to give mouth-to-mouth, simply focusing on chest compressions can save a life.

Anti-smoking law helps waiters quit

Do those restaurant smoking bans actually have an effect on your health? Yes. On January 1, 2006, Spain enforced a smoking ban in public places. Nearly four years later, the benefits of the ban are coming to light. Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology conducted a study on the impact of the law on those working in these places. The study focused on 288 bar and restaurant workers, half of whom were smokers, from three months before the law was enforced to one year afterward. It seems the ban was effective, for workers anyway: Five percent of smoking waiters had stopped smoking and, among those who continued to smoke, the number of cigarettes consumed had fallen by almost 9 percent, or nearly two cigarettes a day. In addition, the levels of cotinine—a byproduct of nicotine—in the workers’ saliva had fallen by 4.4 percent. Seems the inconvenience of having to go outside for a cigarette really does deter smokers. Next up: Determining whether the same holds true for the rest of us.

Why we’re failing our hearts

It’s a scary and shocking truth: Americans are less heart-healthy today than we’ve been in 20 years. During the 1980s and 1990s, the proportion of Americans who rated low on key heart disease risk factors was on the rise. But now the number is declining—and less than 10 percent of Americans are now at low risk for heart disease. According to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, fewer adults are smoking, but more are developing high blood pressure or diabetes or becoming overweight or obese. Researchers tracked data on adults ages 25 to 74 and examined several factors that put them at low risk, including having never been a smoker, having quit smoking, having total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL without using cholesterol-lowering drugs, having blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg without using blood pressure-lowering medication, not being overweight and having never been diagnosed with diabetes. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 4.4 percent of adults had all five of the low-risk factors between 1971 and 1975, 5.7 percent between 1976 and 1980 and 10.5 percent between 1988 and 1994. But the positive trend reversed between 1999 and 2004, when just 7.5 percent of adults rated low risk on all factors. Researchers say that for most of us, achieving low-risk status remains a distant and challenging goal, most likely because we’re eating too much and exercising too little. By eating right and becoming more active, and by encouraging your loved ones to do the same, you can reduce your own risk for heart disease and help get America back on track to a heart-healthy lifestyle.