Reducing air pollution can prevent heart attacks

Reducing pollution is not only helpful for the environment it may also have significant health benefits at the population level such as preventing heart attacks.

Heart attack is the leading cause of death in India, China, United States. Besides risk factors such as smoking, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol or physical inactivity, air pollution can also increase the frequency of heart attacks

With each 10 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter) drop in particulate matter 2.5 (a common type of air pollutant containing microscopic pieces of solid substances), the number of heart attacks decreased by 6 percent.

If it turns out that we can meaningfully link a reduction in traffic-related air pollution during COVID lockdowns to a reduction in heart attacks, it points the way toward a major change that could help to reduce the burden of heart disease. We know how to reduce air pollution concentrations and have seen that it is possible

This could reinforce the benefits of air pollution reduction as a cost-effective way to improve health. It also means that reducing fossil fuel combustion, which we need to do anyway to combat climate change, may yield tremendous health benefits now, even if the climate benefits take years to accrue.