LOUISVILLE, Ky., Mar 23, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The link between air
pollution and heart attacks has led to a new health field -- environmental
cardiology, U.S. researchers said.
Aruni Bhatnagar of the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Dr. Robert Brook
of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor said the field focuses on the
relationship between heart disease and air pollution -- specifically the
smaller, microscopic particles that are not filtered out by the upper airway and
can get into the lungs, possibly gaining entrance to the blood stream.
The researchers organized Environmental Factors in Heart Disease, a symposium
scheduled to be part of the Experimental Biology conference in New Orleans April
21.
Bhatnagar has linked exposure to environmental aldehydes -- toxic chemicals
found in cigarette smoke and car exhaust -- to increased blood cholesterol
levels and the activation of enzymes that can cause plaque in the blood vessels
to rupture. Ruptured plaque can result in a blood clot that may lead to a heart
attack, Bhatnagar said.
Brook's research has found a very rapid increase in blood pressure within 15
minutes of inhaling air pollutants. Also, as blood vessels react to pollutants
as foreign matter, the inflammatory response sets off a complex physiological
response that is harmful to the blood vessels.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International