Physical influences on right ventricular infarction and cardiogenic shock in acute myocardial infarction.

AIM: To determine if complicated acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is related to specific cosmophysical activities. METHODS: The study group included 1170 patients who had undergone primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for AMI in 2000-2006. Geomagnetic and cosmic ray (neutron) activity (GMA, CRA) on the day of PCI were derived from international observatories. The findings were compared among patients with right ventricular infarction (RVI), cardiogenic shock, and uncomplicated AMI. RESULTS: Relative to the whole study period, the mean CRA was higher on days on which PCI was performed for RVI (n=123, 10.5%) (p = .0003) and cardiogenic shock (n=102, 8.72%) (p = .018). When the same artery was involved (LAD, RCA, CRX), CRA was significantly higher for complicated than for uncomplicated AMI (RVI group: p = .006, p = .00027, p = .014, c ardiogenic shock: p = .009, p = .029, p = .089, respectively). At the highest levels of GMA, more RVI cases were seen than cases of cardiogenic shock (p = .06). CONCLUSION: RVI and cardiogenic shock were associated with higher CRA than uncomplicated AMI. RVI occurred more often on days of high GMA than cardiogenic shock. Higher CRA may induce more myocardial damage in patients predisposed to AMI.

Neutrons and sudden cardiac death (SCD) codes 121-125 ICD 10.

Recent studies have shown that (1) monthly neutron activity (NA) (imp/min) correlates with monthly number of acute myocardial infarction (AMI); (2) NA is higher on days of automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (AICD) discharges for VT, VF. Here we checked the level of NA in relation to timing and type of sudden cardiac death (SCD) patients [n=848 (579, 68.28% male)] obtained from the Kaunas registry for the years 2002-2004. All underwent Forensic Medicine post mortem examination and classification according to ICD10 by code 121-125. Daily NA data were obtained from Oulu U-ty, Finland and Moscow Monitoring Station of the Russian Academy of Sciences. No difference in NA was found on days with or without SCD. In men < 65, SCD occurred on days with higher NA than in women of the same age (p = 0.01) or in > 65 y old men (p = 0.045). Days of SCD with myocardial ruptures showed the highest level of NA, significantly higher than on all days (n = 669) of SCD (p = 0.037) and all 1096 days of the study (p = 0.0048). Three groups were accompanied by significantly higher NA: repeated AMI, myocardial ruptures (codes122, 123), and coronary atherothrombosis without AMI, related to electrical heart instability. The mechanism of possible neutron role in pathophysiology needs special studies.

Are neutrons involved in the pathogenesis of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias?

Geomagnetic fields protect the earth from the adverse effects of cosmic rays, whose activity can be indirectly measured by monitoring the level of neutrons in the environment. The number and days of discharges from automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) in patients with cardiac arrhythmias are inversely correlated with the daily level of geomagnetic activity (GMA). The aim of the present was to determine whether neutron levels on days of AICD discharges are higher than average. Days on which discharges occurred were recorded in 31 patients bearing ICDs for managing ischemic cardiomyopathy. Daily neutron levels obtained from the monitoring data of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow were analyzed using Student's t test. The mean (+/-SD) daily neutron level for the 1096-day period was 8299.29 +/- 294.236 imp/min (median 8252), and for days of ACID discharge, 8423.93 +/- 274.187 imp/min (median 8443) (p = 0.0002). The mean neutron activity on days of AICD discharges in response to ventricular disturbances was significantly higher than the mean level over the 1096-day study period. Whether this relation is a direct result of low GMA or due to an independent role of neutrons in the pathogenesis and timing of cardiac arrhythmias is unknown.

Suicide-homicide temporal interrelationship, links with other fatalities, and environmental physical activity.

UNLABELLED: Homicide and suicide are extremes in human behavior. The aim of this study is to investigate the connection by time between suicide and homicide, between them and other fatalities, and their links with the level of cosmophysical activity. METHODS: Using the national database of Lithuania (1990-2002) we found that 547,875 deaths, 4,638 homicides (3,374 male) and 19,527 (16,019 male) suicides were registered in that period. Their temporal distribution over 156 months was compared with solar and cosmic-ray activity. Pearson correlation coefficients and their probabilities were established. RESULTS: There was a correlation between monthly rates of homicide and male groups. Female suicide rates correlated with male and total homicide numbers. Both homicide and suicide rates were inversely correlated with solar and cosmic-ray activity. Suicide numbers, but not homicides, were inversely related to geomagnetic activity. Suicide rates were inversely correlated with total, cardiovascular, traffic accident, and sudden deaths; homicide with total, traffic accident, and sudden deaths. CONCLUSION: Temporal distribution of homicide and suicide is significantly interrelated. Both are linked to parameters of cosmophysical activity. The influence of cosmic rays deserves special attention.

Cosmic rays activity and monthly number of deaths: a correlative study.

We studied the relation between the intensity of cosmic rays, the level of solar/geomagnetic activity, and the monthly numbers of deaths in a large hospital in Israel and in all Lithuania. The Israeli data include 30526 hospital deaths, two groups of fatal suicides (2359, 2763), and 15435 suicidal attempts for two periods of 108 and 236 consecutive months. The national data for the entire Republic of Lithuania include 424925 deaths for the period of 120 consecutive months. Cosmic rays intensity was measured by an Apatity neutron monitor. We obtained the data on solar, geomagnetic radiovawe propagation, ionosphere ionization hours, proton flux of two energy levels (>90 and 60 MeV) from the National Geophysical Data Center at Goddard Space Flight Center, National Space Environment Center at Boulder, Colorado, USA, and from the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation (IZMIRAN), Russia. We calculated Pearson coefficients and their probabilities for correlation between monthly space activity level and monthly number of male and female deaths from different causes. Cosmic rays activity revealed significant negative correlation with solar/geomagnetic activity indices and related physical phenomena levels. This activity strongly correlated with flux of protons with the energies >90 MeV proton flux and did not exhibit significant correlation with 60 MeV proton fluxes. Cosmic rays intensity correlation with monthly numbers of deaths was strong for noncardiovascular deaths, suicides, and traffic accidents. The correlation was much weaker for deaths caused by ishemic heart disease and strokes.

Correlation of two levels of space proton flux with monthly distribution of deaths from cardiovascular disease and suicide.

In our previous studies /1-3/ we described some significant links between monthly number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease and suicide and space proton flux > 90 MeV. The aims of the present study were to compare the relationship of some solar and geomagnetic parameters with space proton fluxes of > 60 and > 90 MeV; to examine the monthly correlation of these two proton groups with the monthly death distribution in two countries, Israel and Lithuania. Physical data were obtained from the National Geophysical Data Center and the SESC in Boulder, CO; NSSDC in Goddard Space Flight Center, USA, and the Izmiran Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Russia. Pearson correlation coefficients and probabilities were compared for 56-180 consecutive months. Proton flux of > 60 MeV significantly correlated with three of the four studied monthly geomagnetic activity indices (Ap, Am, Dst), but not with such solar activity markers as sunspot number and solar flux (2800 MGH, 10.6 cm). There was no significant relationship between proton flux of > 60 MeV and monthly number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases and suicide, in contrast to the results for > 90 MeV. From the data available during the 36 months (1986-1988), there was no correlation between monthly levels of > 60 to > 90 MeV. In conclusion, a monthly space proton flux of > 60 MeV is not significantly correlated with the monthly death distribution from cardiovascular disease and suicide and some solar activity indices, such as proton flux of > 90 MeV. It is possible that the 60-90 MeV fraction in the > 60 MeV proton flux "blunts" the cosmobiological relationship between proton flux of > 90 MeV and monthly death number.