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Ed Yeates ReportingA new study of short-term exposure to pollution shows another definitive link between the stuff we breathe and cardiovascular diseases. This latest research is especially significant since it involved more than 200 target sites in the United States.
Exposure to fine but nasty little particles in air pollution may be damaging the heart and lungs. We've heard this before, but this latest study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association draws data pulled from not one, but more than 200 US metropolitan areas.
Dr. C. Arden Pope, BYU Epidemiology Researcher: "And leaves little doubt that there are causal links between exposure to fine particulate air pollution and both respiratory and cardiovascular diseases."
Dr. Arden Pope at Brigham Young University, who pioneered pollution research, says it's time to move on to the next phase of research. Again, this latest study is leaving little room for any more debate on the issue. Where research is going now is to look at the actual mechanism. While my lungs are breathing, while my heart is pumping, how are these particulates triggering injury?
Inflammation, perhaps, that begins in the lungs, then long-term progresses systemically to the arteries of the heart, a condition we call atherosclerosis.
Dr. Arden Pope: "It's long-term exposure that increases the risk to individuals who aren't vulnerable to become vulnerable over time."
Even inflammation from short-term exposure may be triggering the rupture of plaque already accumulated in arteries.
Dr. Arden Pope: "So it makes the plaque more vulnerable to rupture, resulting in acute ischemic events like heart attacks."
So, if it's happening, how? That research is about to begin as part of a collaborative effort between BYU and LDS Hospital.
Johns Hopkins researchers say their findings bolster evidence that there's an ongoing threat from pollution, and that controls are essential to protect public health.
