Days with pollution peaks increase admissions and deaths from heart attacks

The largest study carried out in Spain confirms the short-term damage of breathing dirty air

Polluted air has a direct impact on health. There are more and more studies that show how shortly after the days with more particles floating in the environment, hospital admissions rise. The latest, published on Monday, has observed that around these peaks the risk of suffering a heart attack and dying from heart disease skyrockets. Researchers from the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) and the Spanish Heart Foundation (FEC) analysed data from 115,071 patients admitted to 122 hospitals of the National Health System between 2016 and 2021, linked to official air quality records. The results show that, when the concentration of PM₂,₅ particles exceeds 10 micrograms per cubic meter, in the following three days there are 22 more heart attacks per 1,000 hospitalizations. From 25 micrograms per cubic meter, the risk of dying during hospitalization from a heart attack increases by 14%: one additional death for every 125 admissions.

“This is the first time that these data have been analysed throughout the country, with an unprecedented scale and a very meticulous adjustment,” explains cardiologist Julio Núñez, co-author of the study. According to the specialist, the results are homogeneous throughout the territory and reinforce the evidence that pollution not only increases the incidence of heart attacks, but also the associated mortality. PM₂ particles, the smallest ones, produced mainly by the combustion of vehicles, industry, coal, wood and fires are so tiny that they reach the pulmonary alveoli and bloodstream, where they generate inflammation, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction: malfunction of the inner layer of blood vessels, which can lead to cardiovascular problems.

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