Even in small amounts, carbon monoxide, popularly known as carbon monoxide, can cause cardiac arrhythmias, reports the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is formed during the combustion of coal and its compounds with an insufficient supply of oxygen – during fires, in furnaces, gas heaters or combustion engines. Cigarette smokers also inhale it.
Thousands of people worldwide die from carbon monoxide every year. Those who survive can suffer brain damage. Carbon monoxide toxicity is due to its ability to block hemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein.
According to research carried out by scientists from the University of Leeds together with their French colleagues, carbon monoxide – already present in the air in an amount corresponding to the level in a traffic jam – can lead to heart rhythm disturbances. Chad delays the closure of the heart’s important sodium channels for rhythm control.
Importantly, studies in rats have shown that the typical drug for angina – ranolazine – can reverse this undesirable effect. (PAP)
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