There have always been health risks associated with pollution but now researchers have found that large amounts of tragic fumes can trigger a heart attack up to six hours after contact. This study was found in the British Medical Journal. It states that high levels of pollution can increase the risk of suffering from a heart attack. Researchers say it only increases the risk by 1.3% but getting enough nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants in your lungs can make a heart attack that was going to happen anyway come quicker. Pollution thickens the blood which makes it more likely to clot. A study was done at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to compare heart attacks to the urban area the people lived in and the air pollution from that day. The day that there was higher traffic, pollution increased and so did the number of heart attacks. It is estimated that 29,000 people will die prematurely due to this.
This is a social global problem because it could happen anywhere in the world where there is a high level of traffic. A great example in the U.S. is New York. I have never seen New York without traffic. There are a lot of people that have to deal with all of the traffic in NY. All of those people are at a higher risk for heart attack simply because they stepped out of their homes. There is always traffic there so (every time I’ve been there and seen it on TV) these people are always at risk unless they are at home or in a building working. If we don’t change our air quality it could not only make a negative difference in the United States economy but the worldwide economy as well.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/20/traffic-fumes-trigger-heart-attacks
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