Air pollution link to heart disease

Well, Heart disease was the only one not connected to pollution, now it is...

"Researchers reported a link yesterday between long-term air pollution and the early stages of artery disease in people long before they showed obvious symptoms.

They suggested tiny particles of pollutants from fossil fuels used in motor vehicles and industrial processes such as smelting and processing metals were triggering inflammatory reactions in the respiratory system and blood vessels; and that this began a long process that leads to a hardening of the arteries, then heart disease and strokes."

www.guardian.co.uk...

"Dr Kuenzli, of the division of environmental health at the university's Keck school of medicine, said the pollution caused the body to produce oxidants that triggered inflammatory reactions. This could lead to thickening of the artery wall, calcification and plaques - and ultimately ruptures."

Surf

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.Thanks. Good one. ...the heart disease story is much more complicated and involves a variety of infections, but glad to see the mechanics of pollution involvement are coming out.

Heart diseases are much (much) more common in industrialized countries than others.
This would explain (at least part of) that well.