Cardiac organisations want GPs to advise us about the air we breathe, much as they began to warn against smoking in the 1960s
Conversations with our doctors frequently include ways that we can reduce health risks: eating better and taking more exercise, for instance.
Air pollution is now a top five global risk factor for an early death. This has prompted an international group of cardiac organisations, societies and foundations to call for doctors to advise us on the air that we breathe. They want clinicians to become advocates for clean air and to address the impacts of their own facilities. The reason for this goes beyond the burden of disease from breathing poor air. It reflects the gains from improving it. Improvements in air pollution between 1999 and 2015 account for about 15% of the increased life expectancy for Americans.
