Environmental Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease: Part 1 of 2: Air Pollution
Usman Sagheer, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Sadeer Al-Kindi, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals, Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Shady Abohashem, Divison of Cardiovascular Imaging, Radiology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Colin T. Phillips, Department of Cardiology, Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, USA.
Jamal S. Rana, The Permanente Medical Group, Department of Cardiology, Oakland Medical Center, Oakland, California, USA.
Aruni Bhatnagar, Division of Environmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Martha Gulati, Department of Cardiology, Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center, Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Sanjay Rajagopalan, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals, Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Dinesh K. Kalra, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over the past 50 years, there has been a substantial decline in the incidence of CVD and related mortality in high-income countries, largely due to the mitigation of modifiable risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and diabetes. However, a significant burden of CVD remains in low- to middle-income countries, despite their lower prevalence of traditional risk factors; other environmental factors, particularly pollution, play a significant role in this attributable risk. Mounting evidence underscores a strong association between pollution and adverse health effects, including CVD. This article is part 1 of a 2-part state-of-the-art review and discusses air pollution and its adverse effects on CVD, highlighting pathophysiological mechanisms and methods to reduce air pollution and exposure to these pollutants.
