Tuesday 18 April 2017

Air pollution increases risk of heart disease by lowering the good cholesterol

Air pollution increases risk of heart disease by lowering the good cholesterol Air pollution is a reality today and has been a subject of much discussion recently. Several studies have demonstrated the association of poor air quality with diseases such as respiratory and heart diseases, global warming making it a major public health problem of concern. Yet another new study reported in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology has highlighted the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases due to traffic-related air pollution and proposed an explanation for the relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular disease. The study says that traffic-related air pollution may increase risk of developing heart diseases via its effects on the good high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). The study involving more than 6000 middle-aged and older adults in the United States found that people who live in areas with high levels of air pollution, especially traffic-related air pollution, have lower levels of the good HDL-C. Over a period of one year, those with higher exposure to black carbon, emitted from vehicles, had considerably lower levels of HDL-C compared to those with lower exposure to black carbon. Higher particulate matter exposure over three months was associated with a lower HDL particle number. Compared to men, women had much lower levels of HDL-C. Keep your total cholesterol lower than 160mg/dL. HDL is good cholesterol, keep it more than 40mg/dL. LDL is bad cholesterol and should be kept as low as possible; keep it lower than 80 mg/dL. A 1% rise in bad cholesterol increases the chances of heart attack by 2% and 1% reduction in good HDL-C reduces the chances of heart attack by 3%. (Source: AHA news release, April 13, 2017) Dr KK Aggarwal National President IMA & HCFI

No comments:

Post a Comment