Prior studies have linked traffic noise with increased risk of heart attack and other cardiac conditions, but this is the first that associates noise and stroke.
Elderly people might be more at risk due to fragmented sleep patterns. “The mechanisms involved are probably the same mechanisms believed to be involved in noise-induced hypertension and heart attacks, namely that noise acts as a stressor and disturbs sleep, which results in increased blood pressure and heart rate, as well as increased level of stress hormones,äó said senior researcher, Dr. Mette Sírensen.
Of course all this makes sense and common sense. Living in the south now, when I actually travel north and start to encounter the noise and congestion of traffic, I know my stress level rises. It would figure that the older you get the more susceptible you would become to being harmed by these stressors.