"New Orleans residents were found to have three times the rate of heart attacks four years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina than before the storm and levee break that flooded the city, according to a study presented at a major heart meeting recently. The three-fold increase had first been observed two years after the August 2005 hurricane and, much to the surprise of researchers collecting the data, it has persisted. "We expected a down-trend after four years," said Dr. Anand Irimpen, who presented the data at the American College of Cardiology scientific meeting and continues to collect heart attack statistics as the six-year anniversary approaches. "We had some indication of Katrina's effect on heart health from our initial study, but it appears to be more far reaching than expected," said Irimpen, chief of cardiology of the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System. The data was based on patients admitted with heart attacks to Tulane University Hospital two years prior to Katrina, and compared with heart attack rates four years after the storm. In the four years after the storm, 2.2 percent of hospital admissions were due to confirmed heart attacks. Prior to the storm, the rate was 0.7 percent of admissions"
Showing posts with label Hurricane Katrina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricane Katrina. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Post-Katrina heart attack rate three-times higher: Study
"New Orleans residents were found to have three times the rate of heart attacks four years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina than before the storm and levee break that flooded the city, according to a study presented at a major heart meeting recently. The three-fold increase had first been observed two years after the August 2005 hurricane and, much to the surprise of researchers collecting the data, it has persisted. "We expected a down-trend after four years," said Dr. Anand Irimpen, who presented the data at the American College of Cardiology scientific meeting and continues to collect heart attack statistics as the six-year anniversary approaches. "We had some indication of Katrina's effect on heart health from our initial study, but it appears to be more far reaching than expected," said Irimpen, chief of cardiology of the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System. The data was based on patients admitted with heart attacks to Tulane University Hospital two years prior to Katrina, and compared with heart attack rates four years after the storm. In the four years after the storm, 2.2 percent of hospital admissions were due to confirmed heart attacks. Prior to the storm, the rate was 0.7 percent of admissions"
Friday, March 27, 2009
Katrina blamed for surge in heart attacks
"In the two years after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the New Orleans area, Tulane University doctors found a threefold rise in heart attacks among their patients, and they put the blame on continuing storm-related stress, according to a study to be presented Sunday. Calling this sustained rise in heart problems part of Katrina's "lingering legacy," researchers found these patients showed post-storm increase in factors that are evidence of stress, including homelessness, unemployment, loss of insurance, smoking, poor eating habits, failure to take prescriptions and living in temporary housing such as FEMA trailers. Living under such conditions "creates a high stress level," said Dr. Anand Irimpen, a Tulane cardiologist and one of the investigators. The study, which will be presented during the American College of Cardiology's 58th annual Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Fla., is believed to be the first to monitor disaster victims for such a long period"
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