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Polluted air harms the heart more than cocaine and alcohol
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
Scientists have concluded that fine particles contained in air polluted by exhaust fumes and industrial emissions cause the same number of heart attacks as negative emotions, heavy physical exertion and excessive alcohol consumption.
The researchers stress that at an individual level, the threat posed by polluted air is subtle, but when considered on a broad scale across large numbers of people, it becomes more apparent.
Scientists analyzed data from previous studies of various factors that can lead to heart attacks. They found that cocaine use increased the risk of heart attacks by 24 times, while exposure to air pollution increased the risk by only 5%. Although the chances of surviving a heart attack are quite high when using cocaine, significantly fewer people use cocaine than are exposed to air pollution. Therefore, scientists came to the conclusion that the so-called population attributable risk of heart attacks due to air pollution is much lower than due to cocaine.