- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Long-Term Exposure to Pollution Linked to Heart Disease
A new study suggests pollution particles could set into motion events like heart attacks and strokes years before they occur.
A new study has found that young adults exposed to a certain type of pollution particle showed signs of inflammation and blood vessel damage known to be linked to events like heart attacks and strokes in much older people.
The study, published in Circulation Research, suggests that long-term exposure to pollution sets in motion the biological process that causes major cardiovascular events, the lead author told Reuters Health.
“Blood vessel damage is an underlying characteristic of much cardiovascular disease including coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease and can lead to serious, even life threatening acute disease events including heart attacks and strokes,” said C. Arden Pope III, PhD, an economist from Brigham Young University.
“There is substantial epidemiological evidence that long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk of these events and even of dying of cardiovascular disease,” Pope added.
The study involved blood samples from 3 groups of 24 young, healthy adults, all nonsmokers, which were gathered between December 2014 and April 2015. Researchers exampled samples when particulate pollution was low and high in the area around the university in Provo, Utah. They looked for extremely fine microparticles and for immune cells, which would suggest the body is fighting back against some kind of invader.
When particles known as PM 2.5 were higher, the samples had more dead cells in the blood vessel linings and in the lungs. Tests showed the body’s inflammation response rose. Because the subjects were healthy, the authors concluded that they were not responding to existing disease, but the particles were setting inflammatory responses in motion.
The authors concluded this would explain why pollution would affect not only the lungs, but could contribute to cardiovascular disease as well.
Reference
Pope CA, Bhatnagar A, McCracken J, Abplanalp WT, Conklin DJ, O’Toole TE. Exposure to fine particulate air pollution is associated with endothelial injury and systemic inflammation [published October 25, 2016]. Circl Res http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.309279
Dr Kathryn Lindley on Pregnancy-Related Cardiovascular Care Gaps and Training Initiatives
December 8th 2023Cardiologists need skills in risk assessment, contraception counseling, and hypertension management for pregnant patients, according to Kathryn Lindley, MD, FACC, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Read More
For National Women’s Health Week, One Company Emphasizes Cardiovascular Risk Management
May 10th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Joanne Armstrong, MD, MPH, vice president and chief medical officer for Women’s Health and Genomics at CVS Health, on the distinct pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in women and how her own health experiences have influenced her perspective on cardiovascular disease management.
Listen
Dr Kathryn Lindley Explains the Importance of Cardio-Obstetrics in Fellowship Programs
December 5th 2023Kathryn Lindley, MD, FACC, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, talks about why it’s important to incorporate cardio-obstetrics training into cardiovascular disease fellowship programs.
Read More
How Can Employers Leverage the DPP to Improve Diabetes Rates?
February 15th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Jill Hutt, vice president of member services at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health, explains the Coalition’s efforts to reduce diabetes rates through the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP).
Listen
Drug Overdoses Leading to Cardiac Arrest Rising, Particularly With Stimulant-Opioid Combination
November 25th 2023A population-based study found that out-of-hospital cardiac arrest events resulting from drug overdoses have significantly increased from 2015 to 2021, particularly among patients who have taken a combination of stimulants and opioids.
Read More
In this interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®, Katie Queen, MD, addresses the complexity of obesity as a medical condition, pivoting to virtual care while ensuring that patients who lived in a rural location continued to receive adequate care, and the importance of integrating awareness of obesity and chronic disease prevention into local food culture.
Read More
