Traffic air quality linked to heart attacks

Exposure to poor air quality in areas of built-up traffic can make people more susceptible to heart attacks, a new study has found.

Scientists at the Institute of Epidemiology at the German Research Centre for Environmental Health in Neuherberg monitored heart attack patients in Augsberg, southern Germany between 1999 and 2003.

They found that the risk of a heart attack beginning in patients who had taken to the road within an hour of experiencing symptoms was more than three times likely than in those who had not.

Annette Peters, head of research at the institute and leader of the study, said that exhaust fumes were a potential factor,

"Measures to improve air quality within metropolitan areas and reduction of emissions from vehicles are likely to reduce risk for heart attacks," she said.

Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show that air quality safety levels are breached on 52 per cent of roads in Germany, the Sunday Times reported this month.