Air traffic How constant aircraft noise can damage your health

SDA

9.1.2025 - 08:10

The authors of the study analyzed heart recordings of people living near one of four major English airports: London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. (archive picture)
The authors of the study analyzed heart recordings of people living near one of four major English airports: London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. (archive picture)
Keystone

Aircraft noise can affect the heart. In an analysis of heart images, British scientists found that the left ventricle of the heart is on average seven percent heavier in people who live near airports than in other people.

Keystone-SDA

This increases the risk of serious cardiovascular problems such as arrhythmia, heart attack or stroke by 32 percent, writes the group led by Cristian Topriceanu from University College London in the "Journal of the American College of Cardiology".

The authors of the study analyzed heart images from a medical database - the UK Biobank - of 3635 people who lived near one of four major English airports: London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.

Exactly how aircraft noise affects the cardiovascular system has not yet been conclusively clarified. However, there are indications that this background noise is linked to obesity and high blood pressure.