Acute and Chronic Effects of Polluted Air on the Pathophysiology of Myocardial Ischemia

Environmental pollution is one of the biggest problems facing the modern world, because it affects the health of virtually all living beings on the planet, increasing morbidity and mortality. In this chapter, we have described the effects of acute and chronic pollution on the lungs and heart, as well as three hypotheses that could explain how polluting particles reach different organs, especially the lungs and heart. Polluting particles reach the lungs through the respiration of living beings, where they activate pro-inflammatory cytokines, which reach the heart, producing damage to the mitochondria that increases the formation of free radicals and decreases the synthesis of ATP. This mechanism leadsLead to a situation of myocardial ischemiaMyocardial ischemia whose end point is myocardial infarctionMyocardial infarction. This can occur with or without coronary obstruction, obviously the presence of the latter aggravates the situation. Acute pollution produces cellular and molecular changes that lead to alterations of important cellular structures. Chronic pollution over time produces structural remodelingRemodeling of the lungs and heart, leading to cardiac pathologies that, due to pressure and volume overload, modify the geometry of the organs. In summary, whether due to acute or chronic exposure to polluting particles, we are in the presence of an important risk factor for cardiovascular health that increases the incidence of myocardial infarctionMyocardial infarction and heart failureHeart failure in patients exposed to breathing severely polluted air.