ABSTRACT
The current and immediate past Presidents of the World Heart Federation are pleased to publish this invited editorial to demonstrate the organization's strong, ongoing commitment to addressing the impacts of air pollution on cardiovascular health and outline its strategy for action.
Subject(s)
Air Pollution , Air Pollution/adverse effects , Global Health , HumansABSTRACT
Although the attention of the world and the global health community specifically is deservedly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, other determinants of health continue to have large impacts and may also interact with COVID-19. Air pollution is one crucial example. Established evidence from other respiratory viruses and emerging evidence for COVID-19 specifically indicates that air pollution alters respiratory defense mechanisms leading to worsened infection severity. Air pollution also contributes to co-morbidities that are known to worsen outcomes amongst those infected with COVID-19, and air pollution may also enhance infection transmission due to its impact on more frequent coughing. Yet despite the massive disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reasons for optimism: broad societal lockdowns have shown us a glimpse of what a future with strong air pollution measures could yield. Thus, the urgency to combat air pollution is not diminished, but instead heightened in the context of the pandemic.
Subject(s)
Air Pollution/adverse effects , Cardiovascular Diseases/physiopathology , Global Health , Acute Disease , American Heart Association , COVID-19 , Cardiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/metabolism , Chronic Disease , Environmental Health , Europe , Heart Disease Risk Factors , Humans , Inflammation , Oxidative Stress , SARS-CoV-2 , Societies, Medical , United StatesABSTRACT
Although the attention of the world and the global health community specifically is deservedly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, other determinants of health continue to have large impacts and may also interact with COVID-19. Air pollution is one crucial example. Established evidence from other respiratory viruses and emerging evidence for COVID-19 specifically indicates that air pollution alters respiratory defense mechanisms leading to worsened infection severity. Air pollution also contributes to co-morbidities that are known to worsen outcomes amongst those infected with COVID-19, and air pollution may also enhance infection transmission due to its impact on more frequent coughing. Yet despite the massive disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reasons for optimism: broad societal lockdowns have shown us a glimpse of what a future with strong air pollution measures could yield. Thus, the urgency to combat air pollution is not diminished, but instead heightened in the context of the pandemic.