Bad Air Causes Heart Disease, Heart Group Says
Tue Jun 1, 2004 10:47 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Air pollution causes heart disease, the American Heart Association said on Tuesday.
While pollution does not cause as many heart attacks as high blood pressure, for example, it is a serious risk factor, the group said in a statement.
"This is a serious public health problem due to the enormous number of people affected and because exposure to air pollution occurs over an entire lifetime," said Dr. Robert Brook of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who helped write the statement.
Writing in the Association's journal Circulation, Brook and colleagues said this was the first firm conclusion from the group about the long-term effects of chronic exposure to pollution. Their statement adds authority to a collection of findings that some groups have disputed.
Article: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=5316791