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Exposure to air pollution bad for heart health
Daily exposure can increase risk for CV problems.
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Indoor and outdoor pollution can affect the heart in adverse ways different from background air pollution.
Researchers for the CV substudy of the Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study (DEARS) examined the short-term personal exposure of 65 men and women by fitting them with pollution-monitoring vests. The researchers examined the personal and community exposure to air pollutants in five consecutive days in summer and five consecutive days in winter for three years. All participants were nonsmokers living in nonsmoking households.
According to the study results, the researchers found that a 10 mcg/m3 increase in personal exposure to pollution was associated with an 18% narrowing of brachial blood vessel diameter two days after exposure and a 1.6 mm Hg increase in systolic BP on the day following exposure. They also reported that despite the fact that study participants were nonsmokers and that they lived in nonsmoking households, about 30% of the participants were exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke.
For more information:
- Brook RD. Abstract 6213. Presented at: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions; Nov. 8-12, 2008; New Orleans.
The DEARS data are provocative and corroborate and amplify the work of Kloner showing that ultra fine particles in the air may directly affect the heart and arteries independent of any mechanism involving the lungs. Experimentally it has been shown that when these particles are injected into the circulatory system, coronary blood flow decreases, left ventricular contractility diminishes and peripheral vascular resistance increases. Thus, there is direct cardiotoxicity of air pollution. According to a recent report from the United Nations, we are now observing large brown clouds in the atmosphere that are dramatically reducing sunlight and altering the weather patterns in a large part of Asia. According to a New York Times estimate, more than 300,000 people in India and China die each year from CV complications secondary to air pollution. The cost of pollution’s effects on health is staggering and has been estimated to exceed $80 billion per year in China alone.
– Franz Messerli, MD
Cardiology Today Editorial Board member