REVIEW

Why cardiologists should be interested in air pollution

H C Routledge¹, J G Ayres², J N Townend¹

¹ Division of Medical Sciences (Cardiology), University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
² Department of Environmental & Occupational Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill Road, Aberdeen, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr J N Townend
Division of Medical Sciences (Cardiology), University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK; j.n.townend{at}bham.ac.uk

Despite major improvements in air quality resulting from increasingly stringent legislation, there remains a strong association between daily mortality and current levels of air pollution. Growing epidemiological evidence suggests that many, perhaps the majority, of these deaths are caused by cardiovascular disease.

Keywords: Air pollution; cardiovascular disease; inflammation; autonomic nervous system

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