(By Dennis Thompson – HealthDay News) — Air pollution may contribute to clogged arteries, according to a new study.
People exposed to common air pollutants for long periods of time are at higher risk of advanced heart disease caused by hardened arteries, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, in Chicago.
Even Air pollution levels According to the researchers, medications that were close to or below government standards were associated with early signs of heart disease.
“Even at low levels of exposure, air pollution is associated with more plaque in the coronary arteries,” said lead researcher Dr. Felipe Castillo Aravena, Cardiothoracic imaging researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada, in a press release.
Additionally, the more air pollution a person was exposed to over their lifetime, the more likely their arteries were to become clogged, according to the results.
For the study, researchers tracked the burden on heart health and Air pollution from more than 11,000 adults treated at three Toronto hospitals.
The team used Chest CT scans to analyze patients’ heart arteries and estimate their exposure to air pollution using environmental data and the zip codes of patients’ homes.
The results showed that for every 1 microgram per cubic meter increase in long-term exposure to particulate matter in the air, there was:
An 11% increase in calcium accumulation in the coronary arteries. 13% more likely to have more arterial plaques. 23% increased risk of heart disease from clogged arteries.
Exposure to another form of air pollution, nitrogen dioxide, showed similar trends but with smaller effects, the researchers said. According to the researchers, there were also differences between men and women.
“In women, long-term exposure to fine particles was associated with higher calcium levels and more narrowing of the arteries. In men, a Prolonged exposure to fine particles was associated with higher calcium levels and greater plaque burdenCastillo said
This study was unable to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but only shows a connection between air pollution and Heart healththe researchers noted.
More research is needed to understand why air pollution could damage the heart and blood vessels and to establish a causal link between the two, Castillo said.
“This is one of the largest studies to make the connection long-term gas and particle pollution at current exposure levels to multiple markers of coronary artery disease assessed by cardiac CT,” said principal investigator, Ph.D. Kate Hanneman Cardiac radiologist and vice president for research at the University of Toronto, in a press release.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence that air pollution is a modifiable cardiovascular risk factor and underscore the need for further research to understand why these associations differ between men and women,” Hanneman added.
Results presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Further information: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more information on air pollution and heart disease. SPRING: Radiological Society of North America, press release, December 4, 2025
*Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter ©The New York Times 2025