Researchers find link between air pollution and heart disease

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/jhub-rfl111815.php

Public Release: 18-Nov-2015
Researchers find link between air pollution and heart disease
Higher levels of coarse particles in the air associated with increase in same-day cardiovascular hospitalizations in major urban areas
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found a link between higher levels of a specific kind of air pollution in major urban areas and an increase in cardiovascular-related hospitalizations such as for heart attacks in people 65 and older.

The findings, published in the November issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, are the strongest evidence to date that coarse particulate matter - airborne pollutants that range in size from 2.5 to 10 microns in diameter and can be released into the air from farming, construction projects or even wind in the desert - impacts public health. It has long been understood that particles smaller in size, which typically come from automobile exhaust or power plants, can damage the lungs and even enter the bloodstream. This is believed to be the first study that clearly implicates larger particles, which are smaller in diameter than a human hair.

•••••

The researchers also studied respiratory diseases but did not find a correlation between high levels of coarse particles and hospitalizations for those illnesses.

•••••

The researchers found that on days when coarse particle levels were higher, cardiovascular hospitalizations were also higher that same day. They did not find a correlation in the following days.

As part of the Clean Air Act, the EPA more closely regulates finer particles, which are more likely to come from manmade sources. States work to reduce those levels through various mechanisms, including stronger car emissions standards or adding scrubbers to coal-fired power plants. In some areas, coarse particles may be more difficult to reduce, as they can come from natural sources.

The coarse particles enter the respiratory tract and can trigger systemic health problems, though the mechanism is not fully understood.

•••••