A Systematic Review of Whether the Use of N95 Respirator Masks Decreases the Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in the General Population

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 14; no. 10; p. e29823
• Main Authors: Khan, Ameer, Khan, Munir A, Perry, Matthew, Godhania, Udai K, Khan, Omer J, Khan, Aftab A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto Cureus Inc 02-10-2022; Cureus
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Cardiology; Cardiovascular disease; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease prevention; Dyspnea; Environmental Health; Epidemiology/Public Health; Masks
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.29823

The usage of masks such as the N95 has increased exponentially worldwide. With the ever-increasing global rates of cardiovascular disease, it is vital that preventative measures are adopted to help tackle this crisis. N95 masks have been promoted as health prevention odysseys in the battle against viruses such as COVID-19. A systematic review was conducted on whether the N95 masks could help improve our cardiovascular health. Our data sources included PubMed, Medline and Scopus. Eleven studies met the eligibility criteria to be included in the review. N95 mask usage led to increased reports of dyspnoea, however, no significant effect was seen on blood pressure. N95 masks also showed improvement in aortic parameters. While encouraging results were yielded, further focussed studies on the use of N95 masks and the effect on various cardiovascular parameters would help strengthen the association.