Everyone knows dirty, polluted air is no good for a person's health. Now, there is concrete evidence to support the claims pollution and dirty air can have adverse effects on someone's lungs and heart, which leads to the potential risk of disease and illness, according to a study done in the United Kingdom.
The study published in the journal Heart looked at statistics from the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project that tracked hospital admissions for stroke and heart attack, as well as local emergency medical admissions and statistics from the Office of National Statistics on recorded deaths in England and Wales from 2003 through 2009.
The researchers revealed high levels of air pollutants have been linked to the increase in certain areas of the risk of heart attack and stroke. However, the researchers said that more efforts are needed in order to clarify the specific pollution and air degradation risks to people.
The study then looked at the hospital admissions and the air pollution rate for a period of five days in order to track levels of pollution and medical issues arising as a result.
But the research made clear that there was "no clear link with any air pollutant was found for cardiovascular deaths, with the exception of PM2.5 which was linked to an increased risk of irregular heart rhythms, irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) and blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism)."
It urged for greater understanding the role air pollution can play on individual's health and how the government and other agencies can help to reduce lung and heart illness by reducing air pollution. The study did say that there is a "clear link" between higher particulate levels and the increased risk of atrial fibrillation and pulmonary embolism.
The researchers also cited cardiologists from the University of Edinburgh, who have reported that pollution has been found to be the cause of around three million deaths globally.
"The current lack of consistent associations with contemporary UK data may suggest that as the fog begins to clear, the adverse health effects of air pollution are starting to have less of an impact and are more difficult to delineate," the researchers conclude.
The study, despite alluding to the potential consequences of air pollution and cancers or stroke, was not able to make a clear connection between high pollutants and stroke incidents.
