January 21, 2008 5:36 a.m. EST

Paul Icamina - AHN News Writer

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Air pollution can be bad for the heart.
Similar to the hazards of second hand smoke, nanoparticles in air
pollution may promote hardening of the arteries and cause heart
disease, according to researchers.

Nano, or ultrafine, particles are the size of a virus or molecule,
about one-thousandth the size of a human hair. The Environmental
Protection Agency does not regulate particles in the nano or ultrafine
range.

The nanoparticles from vehicle emissions may be the most damaging
because they cause plaque buildup in the arteries that increases the
risk of a heart attack and stroke, according to the study posted in
the online edition of Circulation Research journal.

Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the
University of Southern California, the University of California,
Irvine and Michigan State University contributed to the study headed.

"It appears that the smallest air pollutant particles, which are the
most abundant in an urban environment, are the most toxic," said lead
author Dr. Jesus Araujo, assistant professor of medicine and director
of environmental cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at
UCLA. "This is the first study that demonstrates the ability of nano-
sized air pollutants to promote atherosclerosis in an animal model,"
he said on the UCLA website.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009781271