BOSTON, (Oct. 25, 2004) — A study published in The New England Journal Of Medicine says bumper-to-bumper traffic kills.

Researchers in Germany have concluded that people stuck in gridlock are three times more likely to suffer a heart attack within the hour than those who aren’t trapped in a traffic jam, Reuters news agency reports.

The study — based on interviews with 691 volunteers who survived heart attacks — claims that nearly one in 12 attacks was linked to traffic, and that such congestion is more likely to take a toll on women and on people 60 and older.

Whether the excess heart attacks were due to stress or exposure to vehicle pollution isn’t known.

Traffic posed a risk regardless of the mode of transportation. Heart attacks were 2.6 times more common for people stuck in road vehicles, 3.1 times higher for people stalled in traffic while taking public transportation, and 3.9 times greater for those jammed up while on a bicycle.

— from the Toronto Star, via Reuters