Researchers are investigating the impact of bushfire smoke on the heart and lungs

Teams lead by Professor Peter Gibson, Professor Jay Horvat, Associate Professor Doan Ngo and Dr Henry Gomez have spent the past few years developing a platform to help them understand the impact of bushfire smoke on people’s health in rural
and regional areas.

During the bushfires in 2019 and 2020, the increase in myocardial infarction (heart attack) presentations went up 93 percent in rural and regional areas. There was also a huge increase in respiratory presentations, with many people experiencing a significant
worsening in their disease.

“No one knows why this happened,” Professor Horvat says. “We have built the platforms to understand this but we now require further funding to undertake the necessary study.”

“The increase in cardiovascular disease presentations could have been to do with the increased stress – people losing their homes or being afraid of losing their homes, or the grief of people losing loved ones,” Associate Professor Ngo adds. “It could have been takotsubo cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome) which is caused by extreme stress – but we just don’t know for sure.”
 

Dr Gomez, who is a Deputy Captain in the Wallarah Rural Fire Service (RFS) and has been volunteering with the organisation for over ten years, says that the RFS would be a perfect partner to conduct research with.
“At least four times a year, I participate in hazard reduction burns that are designed to minimise the risk of big bushfires,” he says. “The RFS conducts hundreds of these a year. These burns often result in prolonged exposure to bushfire smoke particulates.”
“We would like to understand what the risks are to the volunteers, and what we can do to minimise those risks.”

With around 60,000 volunteers in the RFS in NSW alone, exposure to bushfire smoke is a big health issue that needs to be understood better. Professor Horvat and Dr Gomez have spent the past few years conducting experiments where they assessed the effects of the bushfire smoke particulates made from vegetation from the Wollemi National Park on lung and heart function. This experiment was designed to mimic the impact the smoke had on people during the 2019 and 2020 bushfires in the Hunter.
“What we found was that the bushfire smoke particulates cause a massive increase in airway hyperactivity (which is associated with airways closing up) and this was particularly severe in asthma, with bushfire smoke particulates also resulting in a reduced response to steroids, which are used to prevent asthma attacks,” said Professor Horvat. “In addition, we found after three days of being exposed to bushfire smoke particulates, there was a ten percent reduction in heart function.
“In pregnancy, we found that both the mums and offspring exposed to bushfire smoke particulates had increased airway and heart problems,” said Professor Horvat. “We measured the genes in the hearts of those offspring and we found that there were big changes in the genes associated with cardiovascular disease.”

For people in rural and regional areas who are disproportionately impacted by bushfires, the researchers want to find ways to better protect them. Associate Professor Ngo says, “All the advice we currently use for cardiac care in bushfires is generic. We want to work out what doctors can give to people to specifically reduce their risks, whether it be cardio-protective drugs or more specific advice.”