Exposure to air pollutants – even at levels below World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines – may trigger a heart attack within an hour, according to a new study from China.
The study discovered that exposure to any level of four common air pollutants can swiftly cause acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which is characterized by a blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle, with the highest risk occurring within the first hour of exposure.
The dangers were largest among the elderly and when the weather was cooler, according to the study.
The researchers analyzed medical data for nearly 1.3 million people treated for heart attacks and unstable angina at over 2,000 hospitals in 318 Chinese cities between 2015 and 2020.
They compared hourly onset times of heart events with concentrations of fine particulate matter, coarse particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone.
The development of all kinds of acute coronary syndrome was linked to short-term exposure to any quantity of fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, or carbon monoxide.
As the levels of the pollutants tested increased, so did the chance of heart attacks. Exposure to nitrogen dioxide, followed by fine particulate matter, was the most closely linked, and the most harmful within the first hour after exposure.
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