Medical News: Noise on the Job Linked to CHD – in Cardiovascular, Myocardial Infarction from MedPage Today

There are several ways in which noise could contribute to cardiovascular events, according to the researchers. One is through the development of isolated diastolic hypertension, which has been shown to independently predict CHD and is more common among younger individuals.

The stress caused by loud noise also might lead to activation of the endocrine and sympathetic nervous systems, resulting in vasoconstriction, occlusion, and plaque disruption, they explained.

A limitation of the study was the possibility of selection bias. Workers who don’t tolerate noise or who have cardiovascular disease could have moved to other, less stressful jobs — or could have died while still in their noisy jobs.