Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Canadian research shows truck exhaust ups risk of heart attack

New research shows that exposure to air pollution such as particulate matter in diesel truck exhaust elevates your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Every year, there are approximately 6,000 additional deaths in Canada because of short-term exposure to air pollution, and research suggests that 69 per cent of these deaths are from heart disease and stroke, the Heart and Stroke Foundation reported Monday in its 2008 report card on the health of Canadians.

Yet a poll of Canadians by Heart and Stroke showed that when asked to name diseases affected by air pollution, 82 per cent named respiratory diseases, 34 per cent said cancer, and only 13 per cent mentioned heart disease.

"In southern Ontario we have a wide variety (of sources of pollution). In your community, truck traffic is a factor," said Dr. Murray Finkelstein, a professor of occupational health and environmental science at McMaster University in Hamilton.

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