Cardiac Vulnerability in Potentially Susceptible Patients

Overview

This project is part of a program project directed toward assessing cardiac effects of particulate and other ambient air pollutants. In this project patient who have recently suffered a cardiac event are being monitored with cardiac monitors for 24 hours up to 4 times during the year following their cardiac event. Similarly a second group of patients with moderate to severe heart failure will undergo similar cardiac monitoring for 24 hours, twice a week separated by 3 months. In both sets of patients home indoor pollution measures will be continuously made and used to correlate with measures of heart rate variability.

Approximately 50 patients in each group will be studied. In addition to cardiac monitoring for 24 hours at each session, overnight respiratory pattern and oxygen saturation will be monitored in both groups. The exposure monitoring will include both particle mass of PM2.5 along with detailed assessment to determine that portion of the particulate exposure from outdoor vs. indoor sources.

Conditions

Eligibility