Even Brief Ozone Exposure May Raise Fatal Heart Risk: Study

MONDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) — Even short-term exposure to
ground-level ozone, a harmful air pollutant, can cause potentially fatal
changes to your cardiovascular system, a new U.S. government study
shows.

Ground-level ozone is created when pollutants from industry, vehicles,
chemical solvents and power plants react in sunlight. Levels are highest
in the hot, summer months.

The study, published June 25 in Circulation, “provides a
plausible explanation for the link between acute ozone exposure and
death,” study lead author Robert Devlin, senior scientist at the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Health and Environmental
Effects Research Laboratory in Research Triangle Park, N.C., said in an
American Heart Association news release.

The EPA estimates that 40,000 to 50,000 people die in the United States
each year because of air pollution, but the mechanism behind these deaths
isn’t fully understood.

For the study, researchers exposed 23 volunteers, between 19 and 33
years old, to a two-hour dose of ozone equivalent to the EPA’s eight-hour
ozone standard of 0.076 parts per million.

Within two weeks, the participants were also exposed to clean air for
two hours. During both exposures, the young adults alternated between
15-minute intervals of rest and stationary cycling.

Although none of the participants complained of symptoms after inhaling
ozone, tests immediately after exposure revealed the young people had
serious ozone-induced vascular changes compared to clean-air exposure.
These changes included:

  • An increase in a signature marker of inflammation that may play a key
    role in heart disease.
  • Reduced ability to dissolve blood clots that could block
    arteries.
  • Changes in heart rhythm.

The researchers noted these changes persisted until the morning after
ozone exposure. They also pointed out the changes were reversible among
these healthy young people.

However, the investigators said previous studies have shown that other
air pollutants, such as tiny airborne particles known as particulate
matter, may be linked to death in older people with heart disease. They
suggested ozone and particulate matter may have similar, potentially
deadly effects.

People can protect themselves by reducing their ozone exposure, the
researchers advised.

You can do this by paying attention to air-quality alerts and limiting
the time you are active outdoors when air quality is poor, they suggested.

More information

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more on how to limit
ozone exposure
.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes