On the eve of the World Heart Day, a leading cardiologist has warned that air pollution can adversely affect our heart and vascular system, suggesting preventive measures for cardiovascular diseases.
Dr Upendra Kaul, Executive Director and Dean Cardiology at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute in New Delhi said that medical studies have shown that air pollution can trigger heart attacks, abnormalities of rhythm of heart and paralytic strokes, with very small particles found in smoke and haze the culprits of greatest concern.
These pollutants which are inhaled pass through the lungs. The larger particles are caught by the alveoli in the lungs and get deposited there, causing irritation to respiratory pathways and leading to bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses, Kaul said on the eve of World Heart Day which is observed on September 29.
The fine and tiny particles pass through the filters of the lung and enter blood and can lead to excessive clotting and damage to the walls of the arteries supplying the heart and brain. This can lead to unstable angina, heart attacks and brain strokes with their catastrophic consequences, he said.
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