Smallest Air Pollution Particles Hurt Heart Most

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Smallest Air Pollution Particles Hurt Heart Most

Cause plaque build-up in arteries, negate effects of " good " cholesterol

 

_http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080119/smallest-air-pollutio

n-particles-hurt-heart-most.htm_

(http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/healthday/080119/smallest-air-pollution-\

particles-hurt-heart-most.htm)

Posted 1/19/08

SATURDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The tiniest bits of air pollution from

your vehicle's exhaust may be the most dangerous to your heart's health,

suggests a new U.S. study.

Particles that are about one-thousandth the size of a human hair, cause

plaque build-up in the arteries, according to a University of California, Los

Angeles-led study. This condition, called atherosclerosis, can lead to heart

attack and stroke.

These particles also contribute to hardening of the arteries by shutting

down the protective qualities of so-called " good " high-density lipoprotein

(HDL)

cholesterol, according to the study, which appears in the Jan. 17 online

edition of Circulation Research.

Over five weeks, researchers exposed mice with high cholesterol to larger

fine pollution particles (2.5 micrometers in size) or ultrafine particles (less

than 0.18 micrometers), then compared them to mice exposed to filtered air.

The mice exposed to ultrafine particles had 25 percent more arterial plaque

development than the mice exposed to fine particles and 55 percent more than

mice that breathed filtered air.

" This suggests that ultrafine particles are the most toxic air pollutants in

promoting events leading to cardiovascular disease, " study author Dr. Jesus

Araujo, an assistant professor of medicine and director of environmental

cardiology at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a prepared

statement.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates fine pollution

particles, it doesn't monitor ultrafine -- or nano-sized -- particles,

according

to background information in a news release about the study.

" We hope our findings offer insight into the impact of nano-sized air

pollutant particles and help explore ways for stricter air quality regulatory

guidelines, " principal investigator Dr. Andre Nel, UCLA's chief of

nanomedicine,

said in a prepared statement.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about the _possible health

effects of air pollution_

(http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/asthma/triggers/085.printer\

view.html) .

_http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/asthma/triggers/085.printer\

view.html_

(http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/asthma/triggers/085.printer\

view.html)

_ScoutNews, LLC_ (http://www.healthday.com/) . All rights

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