Peat wildfire linked to heart failure risk

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., June 28 (UPI) -- A wildfire fueled by peat that burned for weeks in North Carolina resulted in increased respiratory and cardiovascular problems, researchers say.

A study by the Environmental Protection Agency, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Pitt County Memorial Hospital and the North Carolina Division of Public Health found an increase in the number of visits for treatment of symptoms of heart failure in counties exposed to the smoke.

The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, found a 37 percent increase in emergency room visits for people with symptoms of heart failure during a three-day period of dense smoke exposure and for the following five days.

The researchers used satellite imagery to identify counties affected by the wildfire -- which was sparked by lightning -- and compared the data to the numbers of emergency room visits for cardiac and respiratory problems.

The study did not examine health effects from other fires, such as controlled fires that are intentionally set, or other fires that burn vegetation other than peat, the researchers say.

The findings cannot be extrapolated to non-peat related fires because peat fires tend to burn slowly and close to the ground, so the smoke is not as easily moved upward and can burn for weeks or months, the study says.