Toronto may be bad for the heart

Chronic exposure to air pollution in Toronto may be causing heart disease in otherwise healthy people, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation said yesterday. The province received a failing grade from the foundation in a new report card on pollution and heart health.

Air pollution, especially fine particulate exhaust from factories and cars, is believed to cause some 6,000 deaths in Canada each year - about 70% of which are linked to existing cardiovascular diseases. However, University of Michigan cardiologist Robert Book says persistent exposure to bad air may be causing cardiac diseases in those with no other risk factors. “There are studies … that show that there may be a cumulative long-term effect of being exposed over a lifetime or over many years,” he said.

Dr. Beth Abramson, a Toronto cardiologist and spokeswoman for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, urged governments to make concerted efforts to cut pollution levels through better urban planning and increased public transit funding. She also urged people to forgo the car and walk or bike to work and other destinations as often as possible. “We still need to pay attention to the traditional risk factors for heart disease - high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, being overweight, being out of shape [and] high cholesterol - but this is an additional risk factor that we can actually influence and influence the risk for others as a community,” she said.

Fine particle pollution periodically exceeded acceptable air quality levels over a three-year period in three areas of the country: Ontario, Quebec and parts of interior BC.

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