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(Circulation. 2002;106:e9015.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Cardiovascular News

Ruth SoRelle, MPH

Circulation Newswriter

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

Particulate Air Pollution Increases Risk in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease

Individuals with established coronary artery disease were more likely to exhibit exercise-induced ST-segment depression when the air was polluted with fine and ultra fine particles, according to studies conducted by Finnish and German researchers. In a report in this week’s issue of Circulation (Circulation. 2002;106:933–938), the researchers, led by Julia Pekkanen, MD, of the National Public Health Institute Unit of Environmental Epidemiology in Kupio, Finland, wrote, "We observed an association between fine and ultrafine particulate air pollution and the risk of exercise-induced ST-segment depression among subjects with coronary heart disease. Ambient particles of different sizes might act independently due to their different sources or potentially through different mechanisms. The present results suggest that the effect of particulate air pollution on cardiovascular morbidity is at least partly mediated through increased susceptibility to ischemia and provide a plausible biological link between ambient levels of particulate matter and risk of mortality and mortality attributable ischemic heart disease."

In their study, 45 subjects with coronary artery disease underwent repeated biweekly submaximal exercise tests over a 6-month period. During this time, 71 exercise-induced ST-segment depressions >0.1 mV occurred. They found that levels of particulate air pollution 2 days before the clinic visit were significantly associated with an increased risk of ST-segment depression during the exercise test.

In an accompanying editorial (Circulation. 2002;106:890–892), Richard L. Verrier, PhD, Murray A. Mittleman, MD, DrPH, and Peter H. Stone, MD, all of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass, noted that, "The importance of this observation . . . [Full Text of this Article]