CardioExchange Archive

March 30th, 2015

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: March 30th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include two papers comparing everolimus-eluting stents and CABG and a study of short-term exposure to air pollution and stroke.

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June 4th, 2014

Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease in the U.K.: It’s Complicated

Larry Husten, PHD

Epidemiology studies have provided powerful evidence linking air pollution to cardiovascular disease, especially MI and stroke. By some estimates, air pollution may be responsible for 3.2 million deaths each year, most from cardiovascular causes. At first glance, a new study published in Heart appears to cast doubt on this association. Analyzing U.K. data from more than 400,000 MIs, […]

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December 9th, 2013

European Air Pollution Standards May Need to be Strengthened

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new analysis published in the Lancet has found a strong association between long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of dying. The results suggest that European standards for air quality may need to be strengthened. The European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE) analyzed data from 22 European  studies, including 367,251 participants followed for an […]

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May 16th, 2012

Changes in Air Pollution During Beijing Olympics Tied to Inflammatory Biomarkers

Nicholas Downing, MD

Reductions in air pollution during the Beijing Olympics were associated with decreases in certain biomarkers of inflammation and thrombosis in healthy young adults, according to a JAMA study. Researchers measured levels of air pollutants in 2-week periods before, during, and after the Olympics, and also measured blood levels of cardiovascular disease biomarkers in 125 healthy medical […]

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February 14th, 2012

Meta-Analysis: Air Pollutants Raise Short-Term Risk for MI

Larry Husten, PHD

Air pollution significantly raises the short-term, 7-day risk for MI, according to a new meta-analysis published in JAMA. Hazrije Mustafic and colleagues analyzed data from 34 studies and found a significant increase in the relative risk (RR) for MI with all the main air pollutants except ozone: carbon monoxide: RR 1.048, CI 1.026-1.070 nitrogen dioxide: 1.011, 1.006-1.016 […]

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April 12th, 2011

Particle Trap Reduces Harmful Diesel Emissions, Could Be Cardioprotective

Larry Husten, PHD

A commonly available particle trap can dramatically reduce harmful emissions from diesel engines and may prevent adverse cardiovascular effects from the emissions, according to a new study published in Circulation. In a randomized, double-blind, three-way crossover trial, Andrew Lucking and colleagues compared the effects of filtered air to diesel exhaust with or without a particle […]

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February 23rd, 2011

Air Pollution and Cocaine Among MI Triggers Analyzed in Lancet Study

Larry Husten, PHD

Air pollution is a weak cause of MI, increasing risk by only 5%, but because so many people are exposed to polluted air the population effect is quite large. By contrast, cocaine increases MI risk by 23 times, but does not have nearly as large an effect on the population. These are two of the […]

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