Deafening noise from planes, trains and automobiles could also be bad for your heart.
A review in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology saw that noise could disrupt the body on the cellular level and cause a stress response which in turn may increase the risk of common heart disease risk factors and lead to noise-induced heart disease.
There is growing evidence connecting environmental noise, including from road traffic and aircraft, to the development of heart disease, such as coronary artery disease, arterial hypertension, stroke and heart failure.
Vascular Dysfunction
Researchers said their evidence backs up the idea that transport noise contributes to the development of heart disease risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes because noise is associated with oxidative stress, vascular dysfunction, autonomic imbalance and metabolic abnormalities.
In the last decade, disease has shifted from he communicable disease to non-communicable disease, including heart disease.
While there is focus placed on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of traditional heart disease risk factors such as diet and lack of exercise, the authors believe there is a growing body of evidence around the risk factors in the physical environment, such as noise, that deserve further research.
Curfews
Topics looked at were the adverse effects of environmental noise on the autonomic nervous system and the consequences for the cardiovascular system as well as adverse cardiovascular effects of noise in humans and animals.
Measures such as traffic management and regulation, the development of low-noise tyres to reduce noise and air traffic curfews could help in reducing hazardous noise but the authors added that other strategies are needed.
Thomas Munzel, lead author of the review and director of the Department of Internal Medicine at University Medical Center Mainz, Johannes Cutenberg University, Germany said “as the percentage of the population exposed to detrimental levels of transportation noise are rising, new developments and legislation to reduce noise are important for public health.”
