Air pollution causes lung cancer, worsens heart failure, studies find

Photo credit:NBC News

It’s time to start recognizing that the air we breath can cause lung cancer and worsen heart failure, according to two new studies on the impact of air pollution. A person’s risk for developing lung cancer increases in more polluted areas, even if that person is a non-smoker.

Nicholas Mills and his colleagues at the University of Edinburgh also did a study on pollution’s impact on patients with heart failure.

Mills says, “While the role of air pollution is well recognized as a factor for heart attacks, it has been less clear whether exposure increases the risk of adverse events in patients with other cardiovascular conditions like heart failure. Since the entire population is exposed to air pollution, even modest reductions in air pollution could have major cardiovascular health benefits and substantial healthcare cost savings.”

NBC News, 7/9/13

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