Knowledge Center

Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are diseases of the heart and/or blood vessels. The most common are atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, thrombosis and high blood pressure.

In May 2010 the American Heart Association (AHA) issued a statement declaring that air pollution should be treated as a modifiable risk factor, much like smoking, and recommended that people suffering from heart diseases stay indoors at times of high particulate matter (PM) air pollution and heavy traffic (1). Air pollution, especially PM, is now considered to be the most influential environmental risk factor on cardiovascular morbidity and death. An annual growth of 10 micrograms/m3 translates to a rise of 6% in death rates from cardiovascular diseases (2).

According to the AHA statement there is a causal link between PM and CVD, both in the short and long term (1). The environment is now officially added to the well-known list of risk factors – including age, smoking, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, and being overweight -- for developing cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular Diseases in Israel

According to statistics from 2004, CVD is the leading cause of death for people over age 75, and the second leading cause of death for people aged 45-74. These rates are considered high in comparison to other Middle Eastern countries (3). The following figures may help provide some understanding of the cardiovascular disease risk in Israel.

Approximately 25,000 people experience heart attacks in Israel each year, and about 7,000 people die from CVD (4).
An American study among women examined the interaction between living in a high-level PM concentration area and incidence of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular-related deaths. The study found that an increase of 10mcg per cubic meter has increased the risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event in 25% and the risk of dying from it in 75%. PM concentration in the study was 3-28mcg per cubic meter. Urban areas in Israel suffer from PM concentrations in the upper range of what that study examined 20-30mcg per cubic meter, showing potential for dire health risks, including of CVD (5).
Studies conducted in the Technion suggest that in the Haifa Bay area, the main cause for PM pollution is car emissions (6).
92% of Israeli population is urban and highly exposed to traffic-related air pollution. Additionally, the number of vehicles has increased substantially, from about 400,000 in the 1980's to approximately 2.4 million today. 650,000 cars drive through Tel Aviv each day (7).
Data from the Ministry of Environmental Protection show that in the year 2008 PM concentrations were 30-50% higher than the Ministry's and WHO recommended standard (7).

References

1) Brook RD et al. Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease: A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the Expert Panel on Population and Prevention Science of the American Heart Association. Circulation 2004;109;2655-2671. http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/109/21/2655
2) Schettler T. Heart Disease and the Environment. The Collaborative on Health and the Environment. Science and Environmental Health Network. 2005, www.healthandenvironment.org/cardiovascular
3) “Health in Israel 2005 – selected data," Ministry of Health.
4) Goldshimdt R. “Heart diseases in Israel – prevalence, treatment and death prevention.” Knesset Information and Research Center. October 29, 2007. (in Hebrew).
5) Miller KA et al. Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Incidence of Cardiovascular Events in Women. N Engl J Med 2007; 356:447-458 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa054409
6) Broday D. "The impact of transportation on urban air quality and exposure, the Israeli experience," Cardiovascular Diseases and Air Pollution Conference, Herzliya, Israel. November 30, 2010.
7) Air Quality Monitoring in Israel, Annual Report 2008, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection (in Hebrew) http://www.sviva.gov.il/Enviroment/Static/Binaries/ModulKvatzim/P0531_1.pdf

Knowledge Center

Links