Local Study Links Diesel Exhaust to Heart Attacks

July 25, 2007 (KABC-TV) (KABC) -- If you're concerned about cholesterol, you may want to avoid air pollution.

That's the message of a new local study linking diesel exhaust to heart attacks.

So what can you do if you live in L.A.?

You probably know that fumes from truck and car exhaust are bad for your lungs.

But now, scientists at UCLA say there's a link between pollution and high cholesterol.

The latest evidence shows just how tiny particles from diesel exhaust gets into your blood, hardens your arteries and increases your risk for heart attack and stroke.

"We now have defined the mechanism of injury," Dr. Andre Nel, of the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, said.

Dr. Nel says cellular studies of the lining of blood vessels reveal how diesel particles mixed with artery clogging fat switch on genes that promote heart disease.

"(We learned) that air pollution is an additional risk factor and that it is an additional risk factor that may act together with a high cholesterol to enhance cardiovascular disease," Dr. Nel said.

So what does this mean to those of us who drive and live along L.A. freeways?

Dr. Nel's team also conducted animal studies near congested traffic routes to find out if that kind of exposure was enough to cause disease. The answer is yes.

"You may want to plan your day so that you are not on the freeway in peak hours," Dr. Nel said.

And keep your windows closed in your cars and homes.

But besides these practical measures to help lessen our exposure to air pollution, Dr. Nel says there are UCLA studies underway to find out if there are certain foods that we can eat that can help protect our heart against air pollution.

"By putting people on a broccoli diet you may push up their resistance," Dr. Nel said.

Preliminary findings show antioxidant rich foods can protect blood vessels. Researchers say try to eat the recommended five a day. Dr. Nel hopes further research will help develop dietary supplements and protective therapies, but in the meantime experts say we all need to do what we can to cut back on air pollution because we now know it contributes to America's number one killer.

The next step is to develop a biomarker that can help doctors easily identify who's being affected by pollution.

One piece of good news is that researchers did find that some people actually have genes that protect them from the effects of air pollution.

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