Time course of the occurrences of acute cardiovascular events in the Italian city of Brindisi

In a recent study on mortality on municipalities at high risk of environment crisis, significant excesses concerning all causes of death have been localized in the municipality of Brindisi. Focusing on cardiac pathology, we investigated the time course of the daily occurrences of acute cardiovascular events (OCE) leading to unscheduled hospitalization of subjects residents in Brindisi, during years 2001-2008. OCE series was analyzed by Detrended Fluctuation Analysis. The results indicate presence of long-term positive correlation, suggesting a role of atmospheric agents and air quality effects: increase/decrease of OCE following persistent high/low levels of air pollution.