Air pollution 'harmful for those with failing hearts'

Air pollution is harming people with
weak hearts - even killing them, a big
international study reveals.
Experts estimate the toll includes
thousands of Britons each year.
The British Heart Foundation, which
funded The Lancet work, says the UK
must clean up its air - many of its cities
often exceed safe levels set by the
European Union.
The government has already admitted
that in 15 regions, air quality will
breach EU limits until 2020.
But Defra says it is committed to
improving air quality and that most parts
of the UK meet EU air quality limits for
all pollutants.
Air pollution, largely from traffic fumes,
has previously been linked to heart
attacks but not heart failure.
This happens when the heart muscle
becomes weak and less good at its job of
pumping blood around the body. It is
often the consequence of a heart attack
and affects more than 750,000 people in
the UK.
Deep into lungs
The Lancet research looked at 35 studies
with data for thousands of patients in 12
countries, including the UK, the US and
China.
The strongest link was found with gases
such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen
dioxide, as well as fine particulate air
pollution - fumes from buses, taxis and
lorries that can get deep into the lungs
and, from there, into the bloodstream.
People with already weakened hearts
who were exposed to high levels, by
living near to or travelling along busy
roads, for example, were particularly
susceptible.
And the increased risk seems to be
strongest on the day of exposure.
Dr Anoop Shah and colleagues who
carried out the work say moderate
reductions in air pollution could avoid
8,000 US hospital admissions for heart
failure each year.
"There's no reason why the impact
wouldn't be similar in the UK."
Alan Andrews of the lobby group Client
Earth said: "The UK has a big problem
with air pollution, particularly from road
traffic, and the government response
sadly has been worse than useless."
He said people should be alerted when
pollution levels are high so that they can
take measures to protect themselves, by
staying indoors when possible and
avoiding busy roads.
According to the World Health
Organization, air pollution in towns and
cities kills 1.3 million people globally
each year.
UK estimates suggest nearly 30,000
people die prematurely each year as a
direct result of exposure to air pollution.
Air pollution has been linked to asthma
and other lung diseases, including cancer,
as well as heart problems.
The Chief Medical Officer recently
highlighted the impact of air pollution in
her first annual report on the state of
the nation's health - air pollution was
highlighted among the top 10 causes of
mortality in the UK.