A new risk has been uncovered in the already dangerous world of fire-fighting.

Men over 35 have an increased risk of cardiac arrest if exposed to poor quality air from bushfires, new research has found.

A study using data from Ambulance Victoria’s Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) investigated the links between out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and bushfire smoke exposure.

Monash University researchers led by Dr Martine Dennekamp, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, saw greater increases in the number of men over 35 years old experiencing cardiac arrests but did not see a significant association in women over 35.

“The problem is likely to get worse in the future, as we can expect fires to become both more frequent and more severe,” Dr Dennekamp said.

“It is particularly of concern in countries where bushfires occur close to large population centres, as is the case with Melbourne.”

Of the 2046 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Melbourne between July 2006 and June 2007, the researchers estimated that forest fire smoke was responsible for 24 to 29 excess cases.