Air Pollution Reportedly Causes Heart Attacks to Non-Smokers

Since smokers, who already breathe in smoke, were not affected by polluted air, research presented at ESC Congress 2022 confirms a causal link between air pollution and heart attacks.

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Heart Attack and Air Pollution

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The correlation between air pollution and heart attacks in the study was absent in smokers, which may suggest that bad air can cause heart attacks since smokers, who are constantly self-intoxicating with air pollutants, seem less affected by additional external pollutants, according to the study author Dr. Insa de Buhr-Stockburger of Berlin Brandenburg Myocardial Infarction Registry (B2HIR), Germany.

17,873 patients with myocardial infarction between 2008 and 2014 who were enrolled in the B2HIR were included in the study.2 Daily numbers of acute myocardial infarctions and baseline patient information like sex, age, smoking status, and diabetes were collected from the B2HIR database. The Senate of Berlin provided the daily PM10 and NO2 concentrations for the entire city. Data on myocardial infarction incidence and air pollution were combined with information on sunshine duration, minimum and maximum temperatures, and precipitation acquired from the Berlin Tempelhof meteorological station.

According to baseline characteristics, the researchers looked at correlations between the prevalence of acute myocardial infarction and average pollutant concentrations on the same day, the day before, and an average of the three days prior. Analyses of relationships between meteorological variables and the incidence of acute myocardial infarction were also conducted.

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Attempting to Alleviate the Situation

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According to Dr. de Buhr-Stockburger, more efforts are required to reduce traffic and combustion pollution. Although an observational study cannot establish causality, it is plausible that air pollution is a contributing cause of myocardial infarction, given that nitric oxide and PM10 promote inflammation and that atherosclerosis is partially a result of inflammatory processes.

Air Pollution

Any substance that alters the natural properties of the atmosphere, whether it be chemical, physical, or biological, is considered an air pollutant. Air pollution can occur indoors or outdoors.

Common causes of air pollution include motor vehicles, industrial operations, household combustion appliances, and forest fires. Particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide are pollutants of significant public health concern. Indoor and outdoor air pollution are significant contributors to morbidity and mortality and are known to cause respiratory and other illnesses.

Highly Contaminant

According to WHO data, 99 percent of the world's population breathes air that contains high levels of pollutants. It exceeds WHO guideline limits, with low- and middle-income nations seeing the worst exposures.

Globally, the planet's climate and ecosystems are closely related to air quality. Burning fossil fuels is one of the leading causes of air pollution and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. By lowering the burden of disease linked to air pollution and assisting in the short- and long-term mitigation of climate change, policies to reduce air pollution offer a win-win strategy for both climate and health.