Long-term exposure to air pollution ups heart attack and stroke risks

Apr 24, 2013 17:41 GMT  ·  By

Several previous studies have shown that long-term exposure to air pollution takes its toll on one's health.

Just in case all these scientists somehow messed things up while carrying out their investigations, a team of US researchers saw fit to also look into the link between air pollution and higher heart attack and stroke risks.

According to Science Daily, these researchers came to understand that spending a tad too much time breathing in harmful chemical compounds triggers a so-called hardening of the arteries. This basically means that the person develops atherosclerosis.

The hardening of the arteries that these researchers are referring to comes down to the fact that the inner two layers of the carotid artery become thicker than they would normally be at a given point in an individual's life.

“Linking these findings with other results from the same population suggests that persons living in a more polluted part of town may have a 2 percent higher risk of stroke as compared to people in a less polluted part of the same metropolitan area,” researcher Sara Adar said.

Bottom line, air pollution is bad, so feel free to join Greenpeace's campaign and urge politicians to roll out more environmentally-friendly policies.