Fewer heart attacks during the pandemic linked to reduced air pollution

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Research shows fewer people are suffering from heart attacks and strokes is linked to a reduction in air pollution. 

The lockdowns and stay-at-home orders over the past couple of years benefited the environment. The air quality improved with fewer cars, factories, and other toxin-producing mechanisms around.

ABC10 Health Expert Dr. Payal Kohli said it's a silver lining in the pandemic and something she hopes will translate to fewer heart attacks and strokes over time. She explained how air pollution has a link to heart attacks. 

"Think about it as your blood vessels are the pipes inside your body that carry your blood. The air pollution is injuring the walls of those blood vessels and causing cholesterol and blood clots to stick to those walls, and that's the mechanism by which that injury creates an obstruction of blood flow to the heart, and that can cause heart attacks," Kohli said. 

Find more information on heart attacks and strokes HERE.

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