A New Study Shows How Seriously Air Pollution Can Affect Your Heartbeat

For China’s 1.4 billion people, the simple act of breathing has long been something of a risk. Living in the ninth-dirtiest country in the world in terms of air quality, China’s residents lose an average of 2.6 years of life per capita due to atmospheric pollution alone. The greatest risk, of course, is pulmonary , with air pollution leading to shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, asthma episodes, and chest pain. But pollution affects the heart too; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that exposure to fine-particulate matter as well as to nitrogen oxides alone can lead to premature aging in blood vessels as well as rapid buildup of calcium in the coronary artery.