British researchers say these are similar to those seen in heart failure patients
As winds from Arabia put paid to the rare days of good air in Delhi, British researchers have found that even low levels of air pollution can affect the heart.
The changes in the heart when exposed to air pollution levels well within UK guidelines are similar to those seen in the early stages of heart failure. The research was part-funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and is published in the journal Circulation.
Even though most participants lived outside major UK cities, there was a clear association between those who lived near loud, busy roads, and were exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) or PM2.5 – small particles of air pollution – and the development of larger right and left ventricles in the heart. The ventricles are important pumping chambers in the heart and, although these participants were healthy and had no symptoms, similar heart remodelling is seen in the early stages of heart failure.
Higher exposures to the pollutants were linked to more significant changes in the structure of the heart.
Higher exposures to the pollutants were linked to more significant changes in the structure of the heart.
At approximately 9 million deaths a year, India tops the global air pollution deaths. A recent study by he Centre for Science and Environment blames air pollution for 30 percent of premature deaths in India.
This research could help explain exactly how and why air pollution affects the heart.
Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the study said: “We can’t expect people to move home to avoid air pollution – Governments and public bodies must be acting right now to make all areas safe and protect the population from these harms. What is particularly worrying is that the levels of air pollution, particularly PM2.5, at which this study saw people with heart remodelling are not even deemed particularly high by the UK Government – this is why we are calling for the WHO guidelines to be adopted. They are less than half of UK legal limits and while we know there are no safe limits for some forms of air pollution, we believe this is a crucial step in protecting the nation’s heart health.”
