Delhi Air Pollution Increases Heart Attack Risk

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Being exposed to severely polluted air elevates the likelihood of succumbing to fatal heart attacks, cautioned Dr. Deepak Krishnamurthy, a senior interventional cardiologist at Bengaluru's Sakra World Hospital ().

In a post on X, the cardiologist wrote that air pollution is an important and under-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular events (heart attacks)."Higher levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) lead to endothelial dysfunction and slow flow in coronaries and systemic inflammation, leading to accelerated atherosclerosis and thrombus (clot formation)," he posted.

‘25% of heart disease-related deaths linked to severe air pollution. #heartattack #healthyheart #airpollution’

What is important to note is that even "acute exposure to increased PM2.5 levels like we are seeing with #DelhiAirPollution increases risk of death due to heart attacks".

Delhi-NCR's Lingering Smog

In yet another smoggy day, the air quality in Delhi-NCR continued to be 'severe' on Sunday with overall Air Quality Index at 482, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). At Bawana, the PM 2.5 reached 500 under 'severe' category while PM 10 was at 482 also under �severe' category.

The CO was recorded at 105, under the 'moderate' category.The station at Dwarka sector 8 recorded PM 10 at 500 and PM 2.5 at 465 (�severe'), while CO was at 105, 'moderate' category, and NO2 was at 54, under 'satisfactory' category.

The air quality at the IGI Airport T3 area was in the 'severe' category with PM 2.5 at 495 and PM 10 at 454, while the CO reached 104 ('moderate') and NO2 touched 32 ('satisfactory').

Reference:

1. Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease Basics - (https:www.epa.gov/air-research/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-basics)

Source: IANS