Heart Health
Air pollution: An invisible threat to your heart
Microscopic particles in the air we breathe can contribute to cardiovascular disease.
We’ve all spent much of the last few years worried about inhaling invisible virus particles. But the air we breathe contains other unseen particles that also may threaten our health. Air pollution spewed from coal-fired power plants, industrial factories, and motor vehicles contains microscopic particulate matter that can burrow deep inside our lungs.
These particles are less than 2.5 microns in diameter — so tiny that 30 of them sitting side by side are about the same diameter as a strand of human hair. Known as PM2.5, they pass through your lungs into your bloodstream, causing inflammation and another cell-damaging process known as oxidative stress.
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