How to Discover a Connection Between Air Pollution and Heart Disease

There is growing evidence indicating a connection between particulate air pollution and cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association. Smoking, obesity and high blood pressure continue to pose the greatest risk for heart disease and stroke. However, since such large segments of the world's population may endure a lifetime of exposure to these pollutants, it's important to find solutions to this growing problem.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Read the report released by Health Effects Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It reinforces the Environmental Protection Agency's claim that breathing in particulate pollution causes thousands of deaths and illnesses yearly.
2. Realize that scientists have discovered that exposure to particulate air pollution for short periods increases your risks when recovering from a cardiovascular event. However, long-term exposure reduces life expectancy by several years. Hospitals have also reported an increase in admissions due to heart and lung disease in areas with heavy air pollution.
3. Refer to research published by New York University School of Medicine, in which a study involving mice suggests that long-term exposure to pollutants in the air may cause heart disease. The report published in the December 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association discusses how pollution may damage the blood vessels.
4. Speak with your physician about the way air pollution can affect your body. When pollution causes your body to produce unstable molecules, the resulting inflammation in the respiratory tract and blood vessels triggers the arterial damage.