Poor air quality does not offset exercise’s heart benefits

Journal of the American Heart Association Report

Dallas, TX – Even in areas with moderate-to-high levels of traffic pollution, regular physical activity reduced the risk of first and recurrent heart attack, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

“While exercise is known to reduce cardiovascular disease risk; pollution can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease,” said Nadine Kubesch, Ph.D., lead author and researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

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Diesel-engine exhaust filter reduces harmful particles by 98 percent

May be beneficial for cardiovascular functions.

Researchers believe that “the study has provided an important piece to the puzzle of how air pollutants can affect human cardiovascular health.”

Dallas, TX – A commercially available particle trap can filter microscopic pollutants in diesel-engine exhaust and prevent about 98 percent of them from reaching the air, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Inhaling exhaust particles increases the risk of dying from heart and lung diseases. Air pollution, including diesel exhaust as a major contributor, causes 800,000 premature deaths annually in the world, according to the World Health Organization.

“This study focused on cardiovascular effects in men exposed in the laboratory to diesel fumes. Equipping diesel-powered vehicles with particle filters could significantly reduce heart disease,” said David E. Newby, M.D., Ph.D., co-senior author of the study and the British Heart Foundation John Wheatley Chair of Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. [Read more]