Exhaust fumes can trigger heart ailments

Pollution from motor vehicles may be driving up rates of heart disease by triggering inflammation and hardening blood vessels. Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles have found that the fine particles re- leased in exhaust fumes combine with natural fats in arteries to spark a cascade of genetic changes which are capable of inducing cardiovascular atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death in the western world.

* Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com, dated - Friday, July 27, 2007*