Irregular heart rhythm and sudden cardiac death in teenagers

The relationship between particle pollution and cardiac arrhythmias in adults has long been known.

However, the Journal of the American Heart Association published a study in 2022 that also found an association between short-term exposure to particulate matter and ventricular arrhythmias in teenagers.

The study shows that the effects occurred within 30 minutes to two hours of exposure, at levels well below the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air quality standards.

Dr. Fan He, the lead author of the study and a lecturer at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, notes: “Although relatively rare, cardiac arrhythmias can lead to sudden cardiac death in otherwise healthy adolescents and young adults. Our findings linking air pollution and irregular heart rhythms suggest that particulate matter may contribute to the risk of sudden cardiac death in adolescents.

Since cardiovascular disease in childhood and adolescence is detectable into adulthood and can influence the risk of serious cardiovascular disease later in life, identifying modifiable risk factors for cardiac arrhythmias that can lead to sudden cardiac death in young people should be of great public interest”.