Air pollution linked to heart diseases, claims Dr. Irfan

Srinagar: On the eve of World Environment Day, a prominent Cardiologist, Dr. Irfan Ahmad Bhat on Saturday said that the rise in air pollution across the globe has been contributing to 20 per cent of deaths occurring due to heart related issues.

Dr. Irfan Ahmad Bhat, who works as consultant cardiologist in Super Speciality in Srinagar  said that the air pollution is directly linked to many heart related diseases and can certainly prove fatal for the health of people.

“In the last over one decade, Kashmir has witnessed a rise in air pollution. The health of patients who already have heart ailments can worsen further,” Dr. Bhat said, adding that since the villages are witnessing urbanization, the heart related issues are increasing among the people there as well.

“It is a well known fact that the more urbanization is equivalent to more pollution,” he said, however, added that Kashmir is a health resort and there is a need that doctors, journalists, civil society members and the government in particular should think how to preserve the environment from pollution. “We need to ponder preserving the environment so that the people in this health resort can stay fit and healthy,” he added.

Dr. Bhat further stated that the cement dust especially in Khrew areas has led to the increase in heart related diseases among the locals, which at the end resulted in heart attacks as well. “Therefore, air pollution has a direct impact on heart diseases and attacks. Besides lifestyle modification and smoking prevalence, the rise in air pollution is also among the fatalistic factors behind the heart attacks in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He further said that air pollution is contributing to 20 per cent of heart related deaths all across the world.

The Cardiologist further added that the cases of heart beat issues have also recorded an increase in the areas where air pollution is on rise. “People who are exposed to air pollution for a long time period can experience a number of heart ailments,” he said.