Loading...
Air pollution is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Circulation 2004; 109:2655). Higher levels of several pollutants, especially particulate material with diameters of less than 10 μm (PM10), are associated with increased rates of hospitalization for heart disease and stroke. How exposure to various concentrations of air pollutants affects several blood procoagulants was the subject of a recent study, conducted among 1218 residents of the Lombardia region of Italy.
Investigators measured prothrombin time (PT); activated partial thromboplastin time; and fibrinogen, antithrombin, protein C, and protein S levels in healthy residents of heavily polluted industrial areas near Milan and of relatively pristine rural areas around…