BERLIN (Dispatches) -- A recent study presented at European Society of Cardiology Congress 2022 supports a relationship between air pollution and heart attacks in non-smokers.
The researchers from Berlin Brandenburg Myocardial Infarction Registry (B2HIR), investigated the associations of nitric oxide, particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 µm (PM10), and weather with the incidence of myocardial infarction in Berlin. Nitric oxide originates from combustion at high temperatures, in particular from diesel vehicles. Combustion is also a source of PM10, along with abrasion from brakes and tyres, and dust.
They found that the correlation between air pollution and heart attacks in the study was absent in smokers. This may show that bad air can actually cause heart attacks since smokers, who are continuously self-intoxicating with air pollutants, seem less affected by additional external pollutants.