Originally published February 15 2006
Heart expert discovers diesel fumes can damage blood vessel function
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Nicholas Mills, a researcher at the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, has found that blood vessel function can be impaired by the inhalation of diesel gas fumes.
Breathing in diesel exhaust fumes at levels typically found in large cities disrupts important blood vessel functions, new research has shown, suggesting a potential mechanism linking increased heart attack rates during periods of high air pollution.
The link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease is strongest for fine-particle pollutants, of which the combustion of fossil fuels from vehicles is a major source.
The study led by Dr. Nicholas Mills, a researcher at the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, suggests what some of those factors might be.
Researchers found that exposure to diesel exhaust for one hour during exercise caused a significant decrease in the blood vessels' ability to expand, or dilate.
"Long-term exposure could be contributing to the formation of coronary artery disease," said Mills, whose study is published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
During each test, the men were randomly assigned to be exposed to either filtered air or diesel exhaust while riding a stationary bicycle for 15-minute intervals while inside a specially built diesel exposure chamber.
During exposure, the particle concentration was kept at a level comparable to curb-side exposure on a busy street in a large city.
At two points --- two and six hours after being in the chamber --- researchers injected one arm of each participant with drugs that cause blood vessels to relax and expand, then measured blood flow in the infused and non-infused arms.
But blood flow fell markedly two hours after diesel exposure, and the reduced response to the vasodilators continued to persist six hours later, Mills said.
Researchers were particularly interested in diesel engines because they generate 100 times more pollutant particles than comparable-sized gasoline engines --- and the number of diesel-powered automobiles is on the rise around the world, especially in Europe.
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