Air Pollution Warning

80% of Scots are unaware of the dangers of air pollution, that's according to a study by the British Heart Foundation.

Short term exposure to chemicals like carbon monoxide can increase the risk of strokes, which cause around 4, 000 deaths across the country each year.

The research, published today in the British Medical Journal, collected data from around 100 studies across six million stroke events in 28 countries around the world. The findings showed short-term exposure to carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and small soot particles called PM2.5 and PM10 increased the risk of hospitalisation or death from stroke. 

The strongest adverse effects were seen on the same day of exposure to PM2.5, small particles that are around 2.5 micrometres, or 50 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair, that float unseen in the air.

The research follows a nationwide poll which revealed that while 88% of Scots are aware of the link between asthma and air pollution, far fewer made the link between stroke and high pollution levels, just 20% of respondents. 58% of people in Scotland also don’t know what their local pollution level is or how to find this information.  

Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide and causes over 4,000 deaths in Scotland each year. 

The heart charity says the research further highlights the urgent need for the UK Government to bring air pollution in line with current EU limits to help reduce the nation’s risk of developing heart and circulatory conditions.

The UK is currently breaching pollution limits in 38 of 43 air quality zones and is breaking EU law. North East Scotland, Central Scotland and Edinburgh are not expected to comply with legal limits until 2020, whilst Glasgow isn’t predicted to reach compliance until 2025. Currently just five zones fall within EU limits, including the Highlands and the Scottish Borders, although the World Health Organization still does not think these limits go far enough to protect health.  

A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off, causing your brain cells to become damaged or die. As a leading independent funder of heart and circulatory research in Europe, the BHF is currently funding £16 million of stroke research. 

Dr Anoop Shah, lead author of the study, said: “Long-term exposure to pollution has already been linked to lung, heart and circulatory disease. This study now demonstrates that even short-term exposure to air pollution can trigger disabling strokes or death from stroke. We hope these findings further highlight the adverse effects of pollution on health and that policies will be put in place to continue to reduce atmospheric air pollution.

“One of the key differences between risk of stroke due to air pollution and other risk factors such as smoking or high-blood pressure is that the whole general population is exposed. As such, this increased risk of stroke is in the general population and not just those previously thought to be at high risk.”

Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation which funded the study, said: “It’s deeply concerning that in many areas in the UK, air pollution may not meet the required EU limits until 2020. It is absolutely staggering that the UK Government accepts that some may not meet the limit until 2030, a full 20 years after the EU deadline. This puts hundreds of people across the UK at higher but totally avoidable risk of having a stroke. 

“This new research only compounds what we already know, that air pollution is a blight on public health, particularly on heart and circulatory disease such as stroke. We urge the UK Government to do all that is possible, as quickly as possible, to protect us all from unnecessary risk of death or serious illness from air pollution. Every day’s delay puts thousands more people at risk.” 

Michelle Houston, from Greenock, suffered a stroke in 2011, aged just 23. She said: “My stroke came completely out of the blue as I was a busy air steward at the time and thought of myself as fit and healthy. I was then diagnosed with a heart condition that I’d unknowingly had since birth and needed open heart surgery. Since having my stroke, I have tried to live a healthy lifestyle and look after myself to get better as quickly as possible. I’m concerned and disappointed that the Government isn’t doing its part in ensuring that more people like me are not at an increased risk of stroke, and other illnesses that are linked to air pollution.”