Air Pollution and Heart Disease

Over the past 50 years to meet its mission of protecting human health and the environment, EPA has worked to ensure that all Americans have access to clean air, land and water. Environmental law, policy and science have afforded the U.S. improved environmental quality across all media with attendant benefits to human health. Advances in clinical and population-based research methods, engineering, technology and medicine have increased our knowledge of air pollution and its constituents, the way the pollution is generated and moves in the atmosphere, as well as the impacts this pollution has on human health and ecosystems. Air research conducted and funded by EPA’s Office of Research and Development has contributed substantially over the past 50 years to establishing the Clean Air Act’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Research has linked regulated air pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter (PM) to lung and heart disease and other health problems. This research is in-part responsible for increasing the average life expectancy of Americans by approximately five to eight months according to findings from a 2009 EPA-supported study. This webinar will discuss the parallel progress of EPA science, the evolution of the technology used for studying air quality and health, and our understanding of heart disease, improvement in air quality and human health.

Impact/Purpose

Air research conducted and funded by EPA’s Office of Research and Development has contributed substantially over the past 50 years to establishing the Clean Air Act’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards which protect human health and the environment.

Citation

Cascio, W. Air Pollution and Heart Disease. EPA Tools and Resources Webinar, N/A, N/A, August 19, 2020.

• AIR POLLUTION AND HEART DISEASE FINAL 508 TAGGED.PDF (PDF)  (NA  pp, 6.3 MB, about PDF)