Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Ed Yeates Reporting Researchers have found what could be a link between carbon monoxide poisoning and death from heart disease. If confirmed, this discovery may have uncovered one of the most lasting and insidious injuries to the body.
Three years ago Dana Perez was critically ill in a coma at LDS Hospital, a victim of severe carbon monoxide poisoning.
Dana Perez: "Initially I couldn't walk. I had very few motor skills. Sporadic memory, obviously."
Dana went through aggressive treatments, including multiple sessions inside hyperbaric chambers. She's fully recovered now, but does have some side effects.
Dana Perez: "Minor balance problems and finite nerves on the ends of my fingers and toes never quite healed up."
In the Journal of the American Medical Association, a new study from the Minneapolis Heart Institute identifies a possible injury that doesn't heal. Out of 230 patients with moderate to severe CO poisoning, 40% supposedly had heart damage related to the incident. 38% had died within about seven years after the poisoning.
Dr. Lindell Weaver at LDS Hospital, who has his own CO studies, says while the Minneapolis research may have flaws, it's an eye opener.
Lindell Weaver, M.D., LDS Hospital Hyperbaric Medicine: "This again is one more piece of evidence that says, gee, not only can co hurt your brain, as you're fully aware, but it potentially can hurt one's heart and have long term implications as well."
This JAMA study now could also trigger more expanded studies on air pollution, looking not just at particulates and chemicals in the air, but carbon monoxide levels as well.
Brent Muhlestein, LDS Hospital Cardiac Research: "Even short-term exposure to high levels of air pollution are also associated with increased heart complications."
The whole concoction in air pollution and its effects on health is what Dr. Brent Muhlestein is proposing to study in collaboration with BYU. Carbon Monoxide is the most common cause of poisoning in the United States, sending 40-thousand people to emergency rooms each year.
