Air pollution regulators say they need the answers to help them decide how to target efforts to clean up particulate pollution. To public health officials, the new findings are disturbing because they suggest that moderate, everyday concentrations of a pollutant can be lethal. A regular heartbeat is vital because it determines the amount of blood that surges into the arteries. If the pattern is erratic or the beat is too slow or fast, it could be life-threatening. Microscopic solids in the air, called particulates, seem to interfere with the body's ability to control its heart rate and rhythm.
Nerves help keep the heart beating in a regular, rhythmic pattern.
Such changes are often associated with fatal heart attacks in people with cardiac disorders. The inhaled particles also provoke immune cells and cause inflammation in the lungs and heart that might exacerbate heartbeat disturbances. Here are peak concentrations per year for 1990-98, measured in micrograms of particles per cubic meter of air. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.