Environmental Graffiti

It turns out that exhaust fumes don’t just destroy your lungs and decimate the planet, they give you heart disease as well. A study released by UCLA suggests that inhaling tiny particles from exhaust fumes induces cardiovascular atherosclerosis, the single largest killer in the west.

The researchers examined how this occurred and discovered that the particles combine with the fat in arteries to make 1,555 genes more active. Most of these genes are ones crucial in regulating arteries.

It is thought that the particles exacerbate the hardening of the blood vessels caused by oxidation. Previous studies have shown that when airborne particles rise to 10 micrograms per cubic metre, deaths from heart disease rise 6%.