High ozone levels may increase the risk of heart disease

Magazine european journal of the heart disclosed last Friday an investigation in which it establishes that the excess ozone increases the probability of cardiac risks. Although the impact of the ozone layer is not determined, the study shows that fine particles called PM2.5 that are in the atmosphere contribute to about 8.8 premature deaths per year.

Ozone arises in the atmosphere due to the chemical reaction of the agents pollutants generally emitted by cars or factories. The combination of both causes it to activate with sunlight. Likewise, it represents a danger to the health of people who live in cities.

Results of the research

A group of Chinese scientists studied the admission of patients to different hospitals in more than 70 Chinese cities between 2015 and 2017. And around 258 million people were analyzed, where the air quality in those cities was taken into account for the study.

The researchers found that 3% of those who were admitted for heart problems or heart attacks were due to their exposure to ozone. For each increase of 10 micrograms of ozone per cubic meter of air, hospitalizations for cerebral embolisms increased by 0.40% and heart problems by 0.75%.

Study author Shaowei Wu. from Xi’an Jiaotong University, said that while the increases seemed modest, the impact was 20 times greater in summer when there were 200 microgram ozone levels.

Although the research did not find a direct link between heart disease and ozone pollution, the scientists called for measures to reduce the use of fossil fuels. They also called for a system to alert people so they could limit their exposure.

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