Foul air makes people prone to heart ailments and other chronic diseases
Air pollution is a combination of air with substances that are detrimental to all living beings. Air can become polluted by various compounds that are either naturally occurring in the environment or are produced as by-product of anthropogenic activities.
Air pollution has been a growing matter of concern as it can contribute to many serious and life-altering illnesses. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. Outdoor or ambient air and indoor air pollution alike have contributed to increased mortality and premature deaths worldwide.
Thresholds are put in place for various pollutants. Similarly, a threshold had been set by the WHO, affirming that particulate pollutants should not exceed a certain amount in a day or it can prove severely detrimental to health. Still, 99 per cent of the world's population breathes air that cannot comply with the WHO's thresholds. Indian pollutants' thresholds are benign, being 2-3x more lenient than the WHO's old thresholds.
With the new thresholds being put in place, Indian standards stand 4 to 8 times more lenient than what they were in the past. Despite these lenient thresholds, air quality comes within the specified parameters barely in a few Indian districts. This is because these thresholds are not required to be upheld by law.
Hence on an average, based on an analysis by Richard Muller and Elizabeth Muller of Berkley Earth, an Indian is smoking at best one cigarette a day and on bad days they could be smoking three packs in a day.
Air pollution can have acute and chronic effects on cardiovascular health. As per the WHO's estimates, at least 7 million premature deaths per year happen due to both outdoor (ambient) and indoor air pollution. Almost 94 per cent of deaths worldwide are due to non-communicable diseases in adults, out of which cardiovascular diseases make up for most of them.
While many lifestyle issues can also lead to someone developing cardiovascular diseases, a study published in The Lancet found that long-term exposure to particulate matter and noxious oxides can prematurely age blood vessels and can lead to an accelerated buildup of calcium in the coronary artery. This calcification of arteries can cause restricted blood flow to the heart and other blood vessels, leading to increased risks of cardiovascular events like strokes and heart attacks.
India has incidences of both ambient and indoor air pollution. On an average, people spend 90 per cent of their lifetime within enclosed spaces-schools, universities, offices, malls, shops, and most importantly at home. While knowing that indoor air quality tends to get much worse than outdoor air quality due to poor ventilation and accumulation of pollutants can be a deterrent to many, a regular air quality assessment can help overcome such woes.
Indoor air quality assessments are a quick diagnostic test for your indoor environments which can track all the major pollutants that are hampering the indoor air quality or IAQ. When these pollutants are detected in a timely manner, palliative solutions can be implemented to ensure that safe limits of pollutants are maintained, which in turn help mitigate the risks of cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.
(The author is Founder and CEO of Active Buildings)