Using an air purifier at home may reduce the risk of heart attacks, researchers suggest.
Studies have long linked air pollution to cardiovascular disease, with those most at risk tending to live near busy roads.
Particles emitted from car exhaust fumes and tyre rubber can drift into nearby homes.
Once inhaled, they enter the bloodstream and have been associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, inflammation, abnormal heart rhythms and the build-up of plaque in the arteries.
In the UK, the problem is said to be the number one environmental risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases – contributing to an estimated 14,000 deaths each year.
But scientists at the University of Connecticut say portable air purifiers could be the solution.
Researchers divided 154 adults living near highways in the US into two groups, giving one a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier to use in their homes. The other group was given the same unit with the filter removed, leaving it unable to properly purify the air.
After a month, the groups swapped purifiers.
Using an air purifier at home may reduce the risk of heart attacks, researchers suggest
Blood pressure measurements and questionnaires were carried out at the start and end of each period.
Participants who started the study with elevated blood pressure saw it reduce during the time using the HEPA filter, while those given the sham unit saw their blood pressure increase in the same period.
‘This research adds to growing evidence that simple interventions, like in-home air filtration, may help improve heart health for people at risk,’ said Dr Douglas Brugge, chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut and lead author of the study.
According to the British Heart Foundation, 96 per cent of people in England are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed the limits set out by the World Health Organisation, while those living in deprived areas are at a significantly greater risk.
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