A latest study suggests that exposure to traffic pollution modifies the heart structure and its function.
Researchers found that exposure to high levels of traffic air pollution leads to changes in the right ventricle of the heart, which increases the chances of heart-related issues.
For the study, the researchers examined 3,896 participants who did not have a medical history of cardiac diseases from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and who had undergone cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study authors observed the exposure to nitrogen oxide ( a major air pollutant) in the atmosphere over the year before the MRI scan.
The findings linked increased exposure to nitrogen dioxide to an approximately 1.0 g (5 percent) increase in right ventricular mass and a 4.1 mL (3 percent) increase in right ventricular end-diastolic volume.
The study results showed that higher exposure to nitrogen oxide was linked to approximately 1.0 g (5 percent) increase in right ventricular mass and 4.1 mL (3 percent) rise in right ventricular end-diastolic volume.
The findings were true even after the authors observed the differences among participants in cardiovascular risk factors, left ventricular mass and volume, markers of inflammation, lung disease and socioeconomic status.
"Although the link between traffic-related air pollution and left ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, and cardiovascular death is established, the effects of traffic-related air pollution on the right ventricle have not been well studied," lead author Peter Leary, MD, MS, of the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, said in a press release.
"The morphologic changes in the right ventricle of the heart that we found with increased exposure to nitrogen dioxide add to the body of evidence supporting a connection between traffic-related air pollution and cardiovascular disease," concluded Leary. "The many adverse effects of air pollution on human health support continued efforts to reduce this burden."
The findings are published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
