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Air pollution fuels cardiovascular deaths worldwide

A recent study has found a strong link between air pollution and heart diseases. The study used data from 183 countries that

By Ground Report 08 Feb 2024

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Air pollution fuels cardiovascular deaths worldwide

A recent study has found a strong link between air pollution and heart diseases. The study used data from 183 countries that are members of the World Health Organization (WHO). It found that air pollution is a silent killer, especially in poorer countries.

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The study was led by the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases. They found that air pollution leads to more deaths from heart diseases worldwide. The study also highlighted the big difference in death rates due to air pollution between rich and poor countries.

In 2022, diseases that are not infectious killed 41 million people, which is 74% of all deaths globally. Heart diseases caused most of these deaths, with 17.9 million people dying from them every year.

The study shows that air pollution greatly affects our health, especially causing heart disease and stroke. In all 183 countries studied, more people died from heart disease due to air pollution than from stroke.

Common risk factors like smoking, lack of exercise, alcohol abuse, and unhealthy diet increase the risk of dying from heart diseases. But air pollution, both outdoor and indoor, is not usually included in this risk calculation. Yet, air pollution contributed to an estimated 12% of all deaths in 2019.

Air pollution caused more ischemic heart disease-related deaths than strokes in all the analyzed countries. In 2019 alone, in high-income countries, outdoor air pollution caused 16 ischemic heart disease-related deaths per 100,000 people, whereas in low-income countries, the ratio was 70 per 100,000.

The research highlights that in low-income countries, household air pollution from polluting fuels and cooking stoves presents a major health hazard, reflecting a concerning trend.

Indoor air pollution severely impacts health

The study also highlights a big problem in low-income countries: indoor air pollution. This is mainly caused by using polluting fuels and stoves for cooking. This led to twice as many stroke-related deaths compared to outdoor air pollution (39 versus 19 per 100,000).

This shows that air pollution is a big health problem in low-income countries, where people often don’t have access to clean cooking technologies.

"Study co-author Dr. Nikolai Khaltaev emphasized that we must address air pollution as part of a holistic approach to preventing cardiovascular disease."

“Effective air pollution control along with lifestyle modifications and disease management should be essential components of cardiovascular disease preventive strategies,” said Dr. Khaltaev.

Reduce air pollution, improve heart health

The study urges everyone, especially policymakers and healthcare providers, to work harder to reduce air pollution and its harmful effects on heart health.

Air pollution harms people all over the world, but it’s worse for people in poorer areas. The difference in death rates between rich and poor countries shows we urgently need to take action to solve this health crisis.

The study shows it’s very important to control air pollution, especially in poorer countries where the health effects are worst.

Even though more people are aware of how air pollution affects health, health professionals often overlook it because they’re more focused on other risk factors.