Air Pollution Still Sucks!

It has long been thought by the medical community that air pollution had greater impact on the lung and heart health of older people. A recent study by Harvard University researcher has concluded that everyone of any age can suffer the adverse affects of air pollution.

Polluted air particles enter the body during respiration and also enter the circulatory system and bloods stream, thereby affecting the heart as well as the lungs. The particles of air pollution are measured in micrometers: A PM10 is a particle less than 10 micrometers in diameter and a PM2.5 is a particle less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, and so on.

The Harvard researchers study was based on PM2.5s and the study group was a group of boiler makers in general good health and with an average age of 38. The men were exposed to pollution normally found in the general environment and were hooked up to heart monitors and an air sampler set to screen polluted particles PM2.5. The results showed that for every milligram per cubic meter increase in PM2.5s, there was a corresponding decrease in heart rate variability of 2.6 per cent.

The significance of heart beat variability is that even though a healthy heart should beat regularly, it also needs to be able to adapt with minor fluctuations. The variability rate provides indicators of the state of the heart’s electrical activity, blood pressure and the state of the blood vessels. The fact that study shows a correlation between air pollution and decreased heart rate variability in healthy young men is a concern for all.