Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Air quality a temporary trigger for MI


Heavy air pollution can trigger acute heart attack in the hours after exposure.

Every 10 µg/m3 increase in small particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide temporarily boosts heart attack risk by 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively, as per a report in the BMJ. The chances of suffering an attack increase by 1.3% in the 6 hours after coming in contact with high levels of vehicle–related pollutants.

The increased risk is seen up to six hours after exposure to typical traffic–related pollutants. The take home message is that breathing in large amounts of traffic fumes can trigger a heart attack within 6 hours following exposure.

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