Does Air Pollution Cause Atrial Fibrillation?
Posted on September 12th, 2008 by Mellanie
I write and talk a lot about air pollution and heart disease. We’ve known for a long time, from a wide array of studies, that air pollution can lead to heart disease and heart attacks.
Air pollution has always caused my heart to race, but I thought I was unusual in that regard. Apparently not.
A new study talks about the impact of air pollution on the heart’s electrical functioning:
Read Can Air Pollution Cause Atrial Fibrillation?
After reading it, please come back and add your comments to this blog as to what your experience is - has air pollution caused or triggered your atrial fibrillation?
I started taking up oil painting about 4 years ago. I painted routinely, about 3 nights a week. About a year after I started painting I had my first afib attack. I was diagnosed with lone afib. My next episode was a year later, then I got it every 6 months, then every 3 months, every 10 days and now every other day. I continue to paint and have wondered from time to time if perhaps the odorless turpentine I have been using could have triggered my afib. I clean my brushes with it so it gets on my skin, and even though I try to have ventillation in my studio (window) I wonder if Ihave been harning myself. Is anyone else out there an artist with afib?
The comments about a-fib and air pollution interested me. I developed a-fib this year, just a few months after moving into my newly renovated home. When I moved in 90% of home was new, new wood, fresh paint, just refinished floors, new cabinets, new furniture, and the “new home smell”. My a-fib started in March, (5 months later). I’ve found no research to support this possibility. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Gwen and Jan,
I’m sorry you’re dealing with afib.
Though I have no research to back this up, I think you’ve both found a major trigger for your afib.
I’m hearing from so many folks experiencing problems with chemicals and pesticides that they believe are related to their afib. I recently received an e-mail from one who is consistently triggered by pesticides sprayed on a ballpark next to her house.
I haven’t seen research into this, but I, too, have always been very sensitive to chemicals, fragrances, and molds, and have at times had my heart race from them.
These things cause allergies or inflammatory reactions in the body, and since afib can be caused by inflammation, this relationship makes sense.
Inflammation is the cause of afib following surgery, which subsides as the heart heals. Thus, afib should subside as these toxins are eliminated from your life and removed from the body.
The challenge is to figure out how. There are some great environmental medicine books on the subject by Dr. William J. Rea, Dr. Doris Rapp, and Dr. Sherry Rogers. One of the best collections of books and articles on the subject is at the American Environmental Health Foundation (http://www.aehf.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=30).
By the way, we do NOT have any financial relationship with them except for the fact that I have personally spent megabucks with them buying items that have significantly helped the health of our family. They are here in Texas, so they’re convenient for us, but I’m sure you can find resources in your area, too.
Jan, For a new house, high efficiency HEPA air cleaners might start helping to handle all the outgassing of chemicals, but more may be needed. (Austin Air high-efficiency filters have been a lifesaver for us.) There are some great books on the subject of detoxing a house.
Gwen, Not being an artist, I don’t know about options for paints and cleaners, but perhaps some of the books listed above may help.
I wish you both much success in eliminating your afib triggers.
Wishing you both continued normal sinus rhythm,
Mellanie
I have Afib. I have been a runner for 27 years. Ran every other day in San Jose, Ca after work there. Lots of trees so there is lots of oxygen in the area where I ran, but lots of “hidden” smog also from auto traffic.
From reviewing “maps” of the areas of the left atrium that require ablative isolation to insure a high sucess rate for curing artial fibrillation it is obvious that these areas, particularly the pulmonary veins, are the first in the heart to be exposed to any blood-transported toxins entering from the lungs.
That suggest to me that there may be some connection between airborne toxins and Afib.
I also have a gut feeling/hunch, whatever, that if statices were available and checked there would be a significant rise in atrial fib with the advent of the use of catalytic converters on autos in the early 70’s. Cat converters. when fed by any internal combustion engine exhaust, put out chemical compounds that they don’t even have names for yet.
There were rampant respiratory problems with auto mechanics when the converters were first used, but suddenly there was no more mention of that problem.
I would like very much to spend perhaps 6 months in Tasmania (Australia), which is reported to have the best air on the planet, run all the time I am there and see if anything changed.
Darryl
Darryl,
I’m sorry you are part of the afib club.
You’re right about the “hidden smog” in San Jose, and of course the molds can be bad there, too. Some bikers and motorcyclists wear masks over their faces while out in traffic, but that’s kind of hard for runners.
I used to spend a lot of time in San Jose when I worked for a tech company headquartered there; the molds would really get to me, especially at certain hotels.
Our doctor always says that pollutants are additive - once they reach a certain level in your body, all it takes is a tiny bit more to overwhelm and swamp your system. Afib may be one of the ways your system manifests being overwhelmed.
I remember one especially difficult off-site meeting in San Jose–after feeling queasy all morning sitting through meetings at a moldy hotel, we were then taken by bus to our team building activity. The bus had such a terrible diesel exhaust leak that I was sick to my stomach and shaking by the time we reached the park. My body was so overwhelmed by things to which I was allergic that I couldn’t even breathe.
Of course, the park was moldy, too–leaves, algae in the pond, etc.–and I remember having heart palpitations (I don’t know if it was afib), and being dizzy, short of breath, and feeling like I was going to pass out. My brain shut down, and I couldn’t even focus on the team building challenges. I vividly remember a fellow team member (a member of senior management) criticizing me for over-reacting, saying I should have “sucked it up” and kept going. Of course, it was only a few days later that I ended up in emergency heart surgery in which I nearly died.
Do I believe that allergies and air pollution can contribute to afib? Absolutely.
Good luck.
Mellanie
This is all new to us. My husband developed A FIB back in Jan 08 at the age of 31. He has no underlying heart disease, but we did discover some heart disease on his side of the family. He did not convert on his own and remained in A FIB until his cardioversion in May. Thankfully, he has been fine ever since. This past Saturday, at the age of 34, I woke up in A FIB. I was in the hospital, treated, and released the next day. Lucky for me, I converted to normal sinus on my own during my hospital stay. I have no underlying heart disease to my knowledge, although I stll have to have an echo and a stress test. There is nothing like this on my side of the family that I am aware of.
I work in the hospital that I was in and everyone was scaring me, telling me that it would be unusual for both of us to have A FIB, being so young. Then of course, the environment came up. This makes me nervous since we have a 3 year old daughter. We haven’t done anything unusual to our house lately.
Also, my family has been through a lot of stress this year, deaths in the family, etc. Should we have anything tested in our home? Is this as unusual as people say? please help! thank you
Hi,
I think your blog is terrific, and I would like to feature you on Wellsphere (http://www.wellsphere.com). Would you drop me an email?
Good health!
Geoff
–
Geoffrey W. Rutledge, MD, PhD
http://medblog.wellsphere.com
Dr. Rutledge,
Thanks for the compliments. We look forward to participating at Wellsphere.
Mellanie
Jen,
The stress you all have been through can certainly bring on atrial fibrillation. That may well be what is going on.
It is unusual for young folks like ya’ll to have afib, except with lots of exercise. Are you both big runners or exercisers, or have you been in the past? That is a fairly common trigger.
It’s certainly possible that something in your home environment could be a trigger, and with a 3-year old, it would be good to figure it out, or hopefully rule it out.
You mentioned that you haven’t done anything unusual in your house lately, but it can sometimes take 2-5 years for things to outgas sufficiently to no longer be an issue for those who are sensitive to the environment.
Things to look at might be: How old is your house? Any new carpet, paint, or renovation in the past 5 years? Any new furniture in the past 5 years? Or are you in an area with lots of molds? What about pesticides or strong chemical cleaning products? What about lawn care products on your yard–anything unusual applied this year?
There are so many possibilities in the home environment that you wonder where to start. A couple of really good books that helped us look at environmental issues with our son were “Is This Your Child” and “Is This Your Child’s School?”, both by Dr. Doris Rapp.
Good luck sorting this all out.
Mellanie
Thank you for your reply.
We used to play a lot of ice hockey, but that was before our daughter was born. Not much intense exercise going on around here! We’ll check into the house possibilites and of course talk to our pediatrician. I work in a hospital, and it’s funny how doctors almost seem to be afraid to agree that it could be environmental. They pretty much blow off that idea, probably afraid they will create panic. But I hope it’s just a plain ‘ole fluke!
Thanks again. If we figure out anything that could help others I will post it. Take care.
Jen,
Many doctors don’t have experience with environmental issues, so they can’t really weigh in on that. Hopefully you’re right that it’s just a fluke.
Good luck with it.
Mellanie
I am a designer by trade and I became aware of environmental problems affecting the heart, sleep patterns, hormones and many other health issues. I also was a flight attendant for a large air carrier for twenty some years. All I can say is that air quality is everything. All of my close flight attendant friends now have health issues. One has a pace maker and a defibulator , another has cancer and another MS. I have chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivites. Now i guess i am not telling you something you don’t already know . There’s no air in them there airplanes worth breathing. It was bad enough when smoking was allowed , but when they prohibited smoking that gave them the excuse to recirculate some (50%) of the air. The quality was just as bad as when there was smoking. Now when you take off it takes at least 45min to an hour to turn the air one time . This means you are breathing jet fuel, other peoples germs and other unknow offenders. And maybe we don’t want to know . Is it any wonder we flight attendants are sick today and are dealing with health issues that want go away. I became interested in environmental design when I was living in Denver,Co.in the 80’s. I lived in Denver Proper and the pollution was so bad I couldn’t sleep more that a couple of hours a night and my heart would race. I had a filter system installed that filtered dust ,hydrocarbons and molds etc. The first night after that I sleep the entire night for the first time in over a year. I now live in Florida (not real happy about that) because I call that the insecticide state. I am highly allergic to insecticides, but my husband loves it there. I think I became allergic to insecticides when I was flying and they would spray the planes if they were flown into other countries. One of the worst things that happened to me this year in Florida was that the association where I live washed my roof with clorox and a few days later I was in the hospital with afib and my cat developed pnemonia. I wish people weren’t so unaware of what they are doing to themselves and others. We need an awareness program of somekind . I have often thought of approaching radio or T.V. In a way that sounds so far fetched and yet ……………who knows. If your voice isn’t heard and you have something to say that is a real loss. There is another thought I would like to share. I believe road rage is an overload of ingested gas fumes . I had a Boston layover when I was a flight attendant and was in a gridlock downtown. A man got out of his car with a baseballbat and proceeded to knock out every window in another car because it was one of the key cars in the gridlock. It dawned on me that this man must be chemically imbalanced, but why. Then I began to smell the gas fumes myself and my heart began to race and I stared to having palpitations. Also in the airplanes at the gate and taxing behind other airplanes you ingest lots of jet fuel. I truly feel like we have done ourselves a great injustice by overloading our air with petrol. Thank you for your web and for giving me and others the opportunity to tell our stories.
Dianne,
I’m so sorry about your afib. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Like you, many of us are very sensitive to air pollution - I’m one. Gas and jet fuel fumes make me sick to my stomach, and insecticides and clorox cause heart palpitations. Thank goodness for air filters and air cleaners.
I’m amazed at how many folks have shared with us their chemical sensitivities, especially related to afib and other heart issues. Contrary to what some may think, it’s NOT all in our heads.
Best wishes to you.
Mellanie
I am a 42 year old man who is in decent shape but little over weight never had any problems with my heart until I starting driving a truck 2 yrs ago. I was diagnosed with A Fib. Do you think that the diesel fuel caused this ? It all started while at work , I was unloading my truck when i suddenly got dizzy and felt like i was going to pass out my heart started palpitating i sat down and had a glass of water,but that did not work so i was rushed to the hospital by my boss himself where i stayed for 1 week undergoing all kinds of tests, my heart rate was at 175 at its highest then slowly over the next few days it went down, it was a very scary experience to me and my family. That was 9 months ago and last week I had another episode but it only lasted for 3 days. Now i still remain on Warfarin 7.5 mg and Digoxin 0.25 mg. Do you know how long i should be on the blood thinner ? because people keep telling me i should not be driving my truck while on these medications. Thank You
John,
Diesel is one of the worst sources of air pollution, though I believe the new diesel fuel is much cleaner burning. It’s not an area I know much about, but I’ve heard my spouse mention it as we have a vehicle that runs on diesel.
I’m totally at a loss and feel like an idiot here, but typically we’d say to shut off the engine whenever it’s not in use and you’re unloading the truck. But I know that the “rules” are different with diesel engines so that’s not feasible and we need to look for another solution.
I’m really out of my element here, but I do hope that there are ways that you can reduce your exposure. I know that motorcyclists wear masks that have carbon filters that filter exhaust emissions. Would something like that help? They’re not expensive - under $100 - and I know that Respro makes some great masks. I notice that even Amazon carries Respro masks now. We used to have to order them from Canada as they weren’t available in the US. It’s much easier now.
Regarding the Coumadin, I’m at a loss as to why that’s an issue. If you’re controlling your air pollution exposure and decreasing your afib, I don’t know why you couldn’t continue to drive your truck. The concern about driving and Coumadin might be if you’re in an accident, but I’d think that driving a truck, with the skill it takes to get a CDL, would decrease your risk of an accident or problem. But what do I know!
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have further questions about this.
Mellanie
I am glad to note that so many are paying attention to specific exposures to various toxins in their lives v. those who see the words “air pollution” and assume the air they are breathing is fine.
My wife has had a long-standing history of atrial fibrillation with few serious episodes, each having self-converted. The last two were as follows: 1. She had been removing old paint from a fireplace mantle using toxic paint solvent - that evening, she went by ambulance to a local hospital where, after several hours, she converted to nl rhythm. A month later, I arrived home to find her faint, doubled over and complaining of persistent AF. My first thought was that we were about to head back to the hospital. Second, I asked what she had been doing that day = “painting the risers” on steps leading to the upstairs (without ventillation). I immediately gave her 15 drops of a natural substance that removes heavy metals and other toxins. Within 10 minutes, the AF had stopped and it has not recurred, now for four months (and while staying away from harmful toxic substances). One can find a wealth of information at http://www.ewg.org under Health/Toxins, then look under Body Burden. The “writing is on the wall” and in volumes of published literature but, as mentioned elsewhere, little of such information has found its way into medical practice where few physicians ask about toxic exposure and fewer test for heavy metals and toxins; all while such exposures have their effects of each of us.
i have glued thousands of feet of pvc piping in the last year and a half. one day on a job i lost my vision and my heart felt like it was pumping dry and i could hear it making a loud dry swooshing sound. i layed immediately on my back falling pretty much just in time to stabilize my heart after one minute or so my vision returned i felt able but weakend so i kept working. on the way home in traffic three hours after the incident it happend again. i was stopped at light behind a diesel truck that smell set it off immediately i layed flat on my back in van and again my vision returned.this a- fib problem recurred eleven times over the month every time i was exposed to cooking fumes, car exhaust,glue fumes unbearable, upon every exposure vision would cease i noticed by immediately laying flat on my back i could stop the vision loss or at least lesson it and the a- fib .however one day i tried to lean forward instead at that moment i coud feel my heart struggling dry again and hear it swooshing i immediately lyed on my back in the dirt and just as before it stabilized the a-fib again.i was on my back one day with the baby on my lap the cooking fumes from our kitchen triggered my heart to malfuction and my vision was going i thought what do i do im already on my back i think im not going to make it this time then i relized the frying fumes were strong i scurried through the door and layed outside with the baby. sure enough my vision came back and my heart stabilized. this problem became triggered by smoke, normal house hold cleaning chemicals just about any kind of irritant set it off .i have been in perfect health my whole life with no history of heart trouble prior to this work with pvc primers and glues . now i write to you it has been ten months since first episode. i have been looking for answers only over the last three months although i am very sure of the cause what is the solution. under heavy lifting i begin to loose vision time to time as well now. i am damaged yes but to what extent and how do i beat this j.b.
I have had Afib for about 15 years, ever since moving into the house we are in. I take Flecanide and verapamil for that, which works very well in controlling this most of the time, but in the Fall it gets worse. I always believed it was something about the weather or maybe something about leaves or the fact we usually have a fan in the window at night that might bring it on. Perhaps it could be a simple as the air conditioner is off, which might mean the air is no longer filtered like in Summer. Other possible triggers could be mold in the basement, radon, allegies to foods eaten in fall, etc. Anyone with ideas on this?
Tom,
I always find that molds get very bad in the fall for me, and am struggling with them this year, having almost no voice left. They seem much worse than usual right now.
Allergies are a real problem for me, and I hear that from a lot of others with afib. A lot of folks tell me that they have afib related to molds and that this is the time of year that is the worst.
I also hear from folks who have problems with chemicals and afib, but that is normally in the spring when outdoor spraying is common. If there has been some spraying recently in your area, that could have something to do with it.
Our son’s doctor tells us that with allergies there is the “barrel syndrome.” Your body normally handles toxins and allergens until there are so many that they swamp your body. It’s like pouring water into a barrel–it will hold more and more until it reaches the top; then if you pour in more water, it overflows. That’s what happens to our bodies when they are overloaded with toxins and allergens.
It’s possible that your body has just become swamped by too many things right now, and it could be any or several of those things you listed. Good luck sorting it out.
Mellanie
Sometimes I could do without being right.
I keep doing research on the idea of pollution because of the things mentioned by me here is 2008.
Have found the following recently:
Italian researchers have found that 100 percent of the subjects with lone atrial fibrillation, in a recent test, had serious and extensive cell damage in their left atria. This was from biopsies. They did not have damage to the remainder of their heart structure, specifically the ventricles.
Other data indicates that individuals who participate in endurance exercise are “2 to 5 times more likely to develop atrial fibrillation.” Considering that air pollution is essentially everywhere nowadays, I think the case for air pollution causing lone atrial fibrillation is starting to look pretty solid.
Darryl,
I think those of us impacted by air pollution and who have afib believe that there is a correlation. However, research on athletes shows that a lot of their afib is related to atrial stretch and fibrosis due to stress on the heart, such as the low heart rate causing pumping of large volumes of blood on a single pump. Air pollution could certainly factor in for many of them, but that doesn’t explain basketball players who practice indoors and who have high rates of afib.
Mellanie
The atrial stretch and stress related fibrosis fits in, and may well be my problem. At one time, when I was in peak condition, my resting heart rate was clocked at 42 beats per minute.
Do you have a reference on line for the research on fibrosis in athletes?
But… the part on the basketball players doesn’t track, because the air inside is the same air that is outside, except that it has additional contamination from all kinds of sources such as vapors from plastics, adhesives, and such used in construction. Almost all sources agree that inside air is worse than outside.
I PROBABLY HAD A FIB SYMPTOMS BEFORE OUT TRIP TO CHINA, BUT WITHIN 2 DAYS I HAD A SINUS INFECTION- . THERE WAS NO WESTERN MEDICINE ON THE BOAT ON THE YANGZE RIVER AND I WAS FORCED TO SEEK HELP FROM AN EATERN DOCTOR. I WAS STILL ILL AND CONGESTED WITH NEAR PNEUMONIA WHEN I FINALLY RECEIVED ANTIBIOTICS. UPON RETURN TO THE USA I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A FIB AND I AM ON WARFARIN AND A DRUG TO SLOW THE BEAT OF THE HEART.
Thank you Melanie. In a follow up, I have scheduled an appointment with an allergist to see if there are some things I am allergic to that can be avoided. I have been told to try to take a Benadryl, as that will counter many allergins. That might be worth trying. I have also started to take anti inflamatory meds like Advil, to see if that helps when I am in AFib, seems to work so far. I definitely think my cause is something airborne or ingested and I wish there were more studies being done on this. The regular meds I take dont seem to control the afib like they used to (Flecanide and Verapamil), so i am looking for answers as I do not want to try that Abalation procedure as yet, as it is not real effective (maybe 40% odds of fixing on the 1st try, plus the risk of forming clots thatmight cause more problems than the Afib). Is anyone interested in starting a facebook page for affibers? Might be great!
As a follow up to my last post, I just got the diagnosis from the allergist.
I am very allergic to dust/dust mites, one of the most common molds as well as one type of grass.
The allergist did not know specifically about the reaction I have with relation to heart rhythms, but he could not rule it out either. It is interesting, however, that I have the most cases of Afib…from October to March, when I am subjected to more dust and mold due to lack of fresh outside air. In the Summer and Spring, I always have windows open or A/C on and therefore hardly any afib.
I only hope I can reduce the allergins, that may cause inflamations and possibly afib, thus validating or invalidating this possible cause. I will also try Claritin, Benadryl or other allergy meds next time I get an attack, to see if they reduce the symptoms.
Wish there was more solid evidence so that doctors could start helping more afibbers.
I have been a carpet installer for the past 32 years. atleast 20 years ago i would have heart flutter atacks and dizzy spells once in a great while ( maybe 3 or 4 times a year) past it off as working to much & hard! Three years ago I was feeling really weak, no get up and go. Finally went to doctor - A fib. At first we tried the drugs everyone talks about. NO GOOD felt even worse!Then tried a Cardo Version,worked for about 1 week. Since then have had 2 Ablations and still have A Fib. Atleast 2 to 3 episodes a day. Have taken a part time job since the economy has tanked,and havent been near the carpet store in 2 weeks. In that span of 2 weeks I was feeling great no symptoms! Within 20 seconds of walking in the front door of the store I had an episode of heart flutter and was dizzy.At that moment I thought about the chemicals in carpet. I would like to know how many carpet installers have A-Fib
Mike,
I’m not surprised that the formaldehyde in new carpet could affect you that way. I always get fast heartbeats around new carpet, so I avoid any carpet that is less than 3 years old because it takes that long to outgas.
I’m not aware of other carpet installers with afib, but it’s quite likely. Some people are more chemically-sensitive than others–I for one am very chemically sensitive.
Perhaps the build up of exposures to formaldehyde over many years may have had something to do with your afib. If staying away from it is an option, then that could resolve the problem. If not, a mask might be an appropriate thing to try as it is probably the breathing in of the chemical fumes that is impacting you.
The books mentioned in some comments above have many references to the problems from formaldehyde in carpets along with many other issues, some of which might be include molds in the old carpet being replaced as well as pesticides around floorboards.
Good luck.
Mellanie