Environmental Noise and the Cardiovascular System

Thomas Münzel, Frank P. Schmidt, Sebastian Steven, Johannes Herzog, Andreas Daiber, Mette Sørensen

Noise has been found associated with annoyance, stress, sleep disturbance, and impaired cognitive performance. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have found that environmental noise is associated with an increased incidence of arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke. Observational and translational studies indicate that especially nighttime noise increases levels of stress hormones and vascular oxidative stress, which may lead to endothelial dysfunction and arterial hypertension. Novel experimental studies found aircraft noise to be associated with oxidative stress-induced vascular damage, mediated by activation of the NADPH oxidase, uncoupling of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and vascular infiltration with inflammatory cells. Transcriptome analysis of aortic tissues from animals exposed to aircraft noise revealed changes in the expression of genes responsible for the regulation of vascular function, vascular remodeling, and cell death. This review focuses on the mechanisms and the epidemiology of noise-induced cardiovascular diseases and provides novel insight into the mechanisms underlying noise-induced vascular damage.