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Air Quality and Heart Health: Managing an Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Factor
Citation:
Cascio, W. Air Quality and Heart Health: Managing an Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Factor. Webinar-2022 Federal Partners Meeting, Chapel Hill, NC, March 14, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Impact: Based on consistent and robust epidemiological data and the recommendation of American and European clinical experts the webinar will promote the value of using EPA environmental health educational information to promote awareness of EPA tools (AQI and Enviroflash) for use by healthcare professionals to educate at-risk individuals to reduce exposure protect health when air quality is unhealthy. Implementation of such messaging within the broader federal family of healthcare organization is anticipated to reduce heart attacks and strokes and reduce healthcare utilization and costs.
Description:
Dr. Cascio will share with a broad range of federal agencies current understanding of the links between air quality and cardiovascular health. The key facts include that air pollution contributes a high attributable health burden. That certain well-defined vulnerable subpopulations are at higher risk. At-risk populations include those with heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, older adults, children and individuals living in low socioeconomic neighborhoods. There is no established threshold level for safe long-term exposure to air particle pollution, and some of the basic biological mechanisms that account for adverse health effects are now known. This knowledge is giving us insight into how we might mitigate the effects apart from the regulatory efforts to improve overall air quality. Moreover, the work that each State has done to improve air quality has resulted in improved health outcomes including cardiovascular outcomes, and longer lives. The presentation will address: 1) What do we know? 2) Who are the at-risk populations? 3) What can communities do to reduce risk? 4) What can healthcare professionals do to reduce risk of the at-risk population? And 5) What tools are available to help healthcare professionals and their patients reduce exposure and risk from air pollutants? The talk will feature a description of the Air Quality Index and associated EPA tools and health information that can be used by health care providers to educate their at-risk patients on ways to reduce exposure and protect health as EPA’s contribution to the goals of Million Hearts 2022 to decrease the number of heart attacks and strokes in the U.S.