Emissions research
- The BHF invests £95 a minute on research to keep the nation's hearts healthy.
- The BHF has been supporting Professor Newby's research into the effects of traffic pollution on heart health.
Emissions research
Following significant discoveries into the effects of traffic pollution on heart health, British Heart Foundation scientists have embarked on a five-year research programme to continue investigating how diesel exhaust emissions can increase the risk of heart and circulatory disease.
Action
In an earlier study, Professor David Newby’s team of BHF researchers at the Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh discovered that exposure to diesel exhaust emissions affects the cells that line blood vessels. This reduces the blood vessels’ ability to contract and relax and to break down potentially fatal blood clots.
Professor Newby commented: “We have shown that diesel exhaust impairs two important aspects of heart and circulation health and therefore contributes to the development of heart disease.”
In August 2005, the importance of the team’s findings led the BHF to fund a further £1.2 million five-year collaborative study. By measuring the blood pressure, blood flow and indicators of inflammation in volunteers who have been exposed to polluted or clean air, the research aims to uncover the links between pollution and heart disease. It will also help to define the most dangerous components and levels of polluted air and how long after exposure we are vulnerable to its ill effects.
Researchers will also conduct a detailed study of the biological processes that underpin changes in the health of blood vessels. This will provide further clues to how pollution can lead to disease in humans.
Impact
“This research will help us to provide clear, evidence-based advice for heart patients and healthy people with a high risk of developing heart disease.”
Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director, BHF
Professor Newby’s research has already influenced the recommendations of the Department of Health’s Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, which issued a report in March 2006.
Next steps
With four years left to run, Professor Newby’s important study is making progress towards helping us understand exactly the risk air pollution poses to our heart health. Already influencing opinion formers in the field of environmental health, the results of the current research will make a significant contribution to future emissions policy.