The study says the blockade of COVID-19 reduced air pollution from driving, reducing the rate of heart attacks in the United States.

Researchers found that the number of heart attacks was reduced by 6% for every 10 micrograms of particulate contamination reduced per cubic meter.

“The main message from our study is that efforts to reduce pollution around us can prevent the most serious forms of heart attack,” said a senior researcher, a fourth-year medical student at the University of California, San Francisco. Said Sydney Aung.

“We hope this will be a greater impetus for strengthening public health efforts aimed at reducing air pollution,” Aung said.

Earlier studies found that particulate contamination was reduced while people were at home during the blockade, according to Aung.

In the last two weeks of March 2020, particulate contamination decreased by about 4.5% compared to the same period last year, Aung said.

Looking at the counties in the states that started the early closure of non-essential businesses, such pollution was reduced by more than 11%.

To see how cleaner air improved health, Aung’s team used federal data to compare the frequency of heart attacks with air quality in different parts of the United States.

It turns out that there is a direct correlation. Approximately 61,000 heart attacks occurred between January and April 2020, after which the number of heart attacks decreased as the air became clearer in certain areas of the country.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, there are really very few small particles that make up particulate contamination.

The individual particles are less than 2.5 micrometers in comparison, and the diameter of a single hair from the head is 70 micrometers, which is 30 times the size of the largest particles.

Studies show that breathing these small particles is associated with increased inflammation, arrhythmias, and blood thickening, Aung said.

“All of these represent ways bad air can lead to more heart attacks, so we believe that improving air quality can lead to a reduction in heart attacks. “Aung said.

However, a drop of 10 micrograms per cubic meter is not a small potato. Aung said the average pollution level in Los Angeles in 2018 was 12.7 micrograms per cubic meter.

“But I would like to reiterate that even a slight decrease in particulate matter concentration and subsequent reduction in heart attack can be very beneficial to public health,” Aung said.

The findings provide another strong reason for pursuing clean energy technology, said Dr. Joel Kaufmann, chair of the American Heart Association’s 2020 policy statement on air pollution.

Kaufmann, a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, epidemiology, and medicine at the University of Washington, Seattle, said:

“It also means that reducing the burning of fossil fuels that must be done anyway to combat climate change now means tremendous health benefits, even if it takes years for the benefits of climate to occur. It means that it may be, “Kaufman said.

Aung agreed, adding that air quality could deteriorate as more people start commuting again.

“We believe that as people shift towards resuming normal pre-pandemic activity, air quality is likely to return to higher levels than normal,” Aung said. “We hope that our research will impact greater support for clean energy technologies to reduce air pollution levels.”

As an observational analysis, this study does not prove the cause and effect, but only the link between air quality and heart attack.

Findings published at medical conferences are also considered preliminary until published in peer-reviewed journals.

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