as anyone been reading the new study linking pollution with irregular heartbeat please check out it out,,

[llamudos]

nhs.uk/news/2014/06June/Pag...

i know that pollution is linked to many health problems and this could be just jumping on the band wagon but i would be interested in your views

[BobD Volunteer]

Band wagon. jumping on? Hmmm. Nobody actually knows what causes AF. The nearest we have got to it is understanding what it is and that people need a pre-disposition to it which can be genetic or acquired for example post heart surgery or with endurance athletes. We also know that pulmonary embolisms can bring on AF but the mechanism is not fully understood. There is no doubt that particulates from diesel exhausts are a BAD thing and can exacerbate lung conditions and asthma so it is quite possible that they could be causng mini embolisms largely undetected and thus the AF. It seems a big jump of conclusion but then we really don't know.

Bob

[llamudos]

Sorry Bob! a wrong choice of words (band wagon) what I was trying to say, obviously very badly is in this day and age hardly a day goes by without yet another health problems being linked to something or another without any real long term factual evidence. I’m afraid these do catch my eye which prompted me to post this question? Thank you for your reply

[BobD Volunteer in reply to llamudos]

No actually I agree with you on that point and one daily paper (no names) is forever running stories about health problems, some of which are really counter productive but the point is some are good so where do you draw the line. People forget that were we to be back in the stone age with no cars, no electricity, no pollution, there would be no doctors or hospitals and most of us would be dead years ago. . It is balance thing surely..

Bob

[jeanjeannie50]

Yes, I read the report regarding pollution and AF it was very interesting. It's strange but when ever I go into our local town to do some shopping, after a few hours there, I come over extremely tired and have to go home. Now I'm wondering if it's the amount of cars in the area causing pollution.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to jeanjeannie50]

Jean try living in London. This part of the world is really clean, trust me on that. I spent 35 years working in Central London. I know you are on the wrong side of the county but here in North Devon the air has just been washed by the entire Atlantic Ocean. Other than today that is when unusually it is coming from your side. lol

[Mrspat in reply to BobD]

Not sure that London is worse now than it was, just a different kind of pollution. I was brought up there and can just remember the smogs before the Clean Air Act, caused by coal fires and industrial pollution when there were few cars. I had bronchitis all the time as a child. Who knows what long term damage that caused?

[BobD Volunteer in reply to Mrspat]

Yes I remember walking home from school (5 miles) with a handkerchief wrapped round my face as all the buses had stopped. The white cloth was brown when I got home. Now THAT was pollution but at least you could see it. I do fear that what we have today is far more insidious and the move away from lead in petrol has actually introduced some far more toxic chemicals into the mix.

Bob

[Mrspat in reply to BobD]

I wonder how many children walk 5 miles to school or indeed anywhere else these days!

[Hidden in reply to BobD]

Ditto in Birmingham. I remember doing that and having to follow the wall with my hand to make sure I was still on the pavement. Doesn't happen now, except maybe in China?

[Buffafly]

I read it and apart from the technical bits about lung clots it seems like another example of AF being brought on by an unusual strain on the body....AF strikes me as typical chicken and egg situation

[Maitha]

I agree that environmental pollution play a role in our bodies, which is linked to internal pollution and body reactions as allergies to those factors .

I noticed that most of us have allergies , for myself I believe it is linked to my migraine, thyroid and Irrethemis problems

I have a lot of allergies from food and other things such as smells , dust .........

Even I'm a special case where I born with aortic valve problem , and my EP confirmed that atrial flutter usually linked to problems with valves , and other Irrethemia due to the two open heart surgeries I had earlier .

[Jackieboy55]

Hi Llamudos, yes, I saw only a short article on BBC news online, and have just looked at link you provided. I find it interesting personally because my whole working life (40 years) has been in a vehicle workshop, when I am constantly exposed to short periods of exposure to both petrol and diesel exhaust, and have had PAF for the last couple of years at least,but probably longer. Perhaps there is a connection? Worth keeping an eye though, see if any more information comes to light.

[Hidden]

Hi there... Read the link, interesting stuff but I've been living in the country for the past 35 years so I don't think I've had a lot of exposure to particulates (apart from when I was working in London). Been living in North Wales for seven years, the AF appeared four years ago. To quote Bob, it's a mongrel condition, I am sure there are loads of triggers. All I know is that when I go back to London my poor lungs curl up like a British Rail cheese sandwich, I'm sure it can't be good for you overall...

Lis