• Air pollutants travel deep into the bloodstream, through lungs and into the heart. This can increase risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases. (BHF, 2025)
• Air pollutants make your blood vessels narrower and harder which makes it more difficult for blood to freely flow through them, higher likelihood of developing a blood clot, increases blood pressure, and puts strain on heart muscle as it is working harder to pump blood throughout the body. It can also cause abnormal heart rhythms and change the structure of your heart which leads to heart failure (early stages) (BHF, 2025)
• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States (most occurring over 65 years old). One in three Americans has heart or blood vessel disease (EPA, 2024)
• PM2.5 increases the risk of cardiovascular issues - long term exposure raises risk of cardiovascular mortality and decreases life expectancy (EPA, 2024)
• Those with underlying cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels, non-white, obese, older adults, or low socioeconomic status are at increased risk of PM2.5 exposure. (EPA, 2024)
• 1.9 million dying every year from heart disease and just under a million from strokes due to outdoor air pollution alone (World Heart Federation, 2024)
• Exposure to particulate matter increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular problems. (Stebbing, 2024)
• PM2.5, a harmful component of air pollution, was responsible for 4.2 million deaths globally in 2015, with 2.4 million of those deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD). (Feldscher, 2025)
• Even short-term exposure to PM2.5 can trigger heart attacks. (Feldscher, 2025)
• Chronic exposure to PM2.5 increases the risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular conditions, particularly in seniors (Feldscher, 2025)‍
• Short-term ozone exposure was associated with increased risk for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) at lag 4–5 days in patients aged 18–55 years (Zhang et al., 2025)‍
• 3% increase in cardiovascular disease with higher PM2.5 - increase of 10 ug/m3 (Zhang, 2024)
• 1.9 million die each year from heart disease contributed to by air pollution (World Heart Federation, 2024)
• 27% increase in number of heart disease deaths attributable to air pollution in some regions (World Heart Federation, 2024)
• Affect heart rhythm, blood clotting, plaque build-ups in arteries, blood pressure, as well as respiratory diseases and more (World Heart Federation, 2024)
• Cardiac fibrosis is an indicator of heart disease, and is linked to the length of exposure to black carbon particles (Day, 2024)
• Air pollution linked with stress and depression, which increases risk of dying from cardiovascular disease in under 65 year olds (European Society of Cardiology, 2024)
• Estimated BAPC model predicted an upward trend in the number of deaths from CVD attributed to PM2.5 from 2021-2045 (Zhao et al., 2025)
• From 2021 to 2045, the number of deaths has increased nearly threefold, reaching 12.32 (95%UI: 0 to 40.63) million and this trend remains on the rise
• Upward trend more pronounced for females than males
• Aging population will drive growth in total death numbers

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