Short-term air pollution expose 'can be harmful'

A new study by researchers in France has revealed that being exposed to air pollution for only a short time can increase the risk of cardiovascular events, such as a heart attack.

The Paris Cardiovascular Research Centre compared the risk of suffering a heart attack at various levels of industrial and traffic-related air pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and very small soot-like particles. The researchers found that even small effects of pollution can add up, with small particles reaching the tiny sacs in the lungs and carrying through the bloodstream to the heart. Pollutants may also affect blood vessels’ ability to expand and contract in order to keep blood pressure constant.

Dr Sanjay Rajagopalan, who studies pollution and cardiovascular health at The Ohio State University in Columbus said: “If you put together the evidence, clearly day-to-day changes in particle concentration do make a very small but significant difference in terms of increasing susceptibility for cardiovascular events."

This research is supported by a study conducted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, where researchers found that air pollution, even at levels generally considered safe by federal regulations, increases the risk of stroke by 34 per cent.

Posted by Lauren Steadman