I have recently started training to become a paramedic and as such, I have a new interest in health matters. Even from my so far limited experience within the service, I have been struck by the number of calls from people complaining of chest pain and respiratory distress.
As we are all aware, the Ambulance service (and the NHS more widely) are under increasing pressure due to the health care demands of the populations they serve. It might be easy to conclude that this is purely due to increasing populations in the UK, however, I would argue that the problem lies deeper than this.
If the populations within a given area are healthy, to some extent it wouldn’t matter, as the increase in population would not be demanding of health services. So, what is it that is making us ill?
The possible causes
Of course, there are many situations that influence death and ill health – lifestyle factors, genetics and the environment all play a part.
However, research from 2021 suggested that as many as 1 in 5 deaths worldwide are due to pollution, specifically the pollution created by burning fossil fuels. This striking fact was double what was previously estimated.
Moreover, a more recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, published in June 2024, has confirmed the aforementioned study, suggesting that pollution is the biggest killer we face today – bigger than that of war, terrorism, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, drugs, and alcohol combined.
This research suggests that outdoor and indoor air pollution together, are associated with over seven million premature deaths per year, of which over 50% are attributable to cardiovascular causes, principally ischemic heart disease and stroke.
Professor Kovacic states: “every year around 20 million people worldwide die from cardiovascular disease with pollutants playing an ever-increasing role”. Indeed, the research goes on to suggest that a fifth of all cardiovascular deaths are caused by air pollution.
So how are the pollutants affecting our health?
Whether you are a fan of ULEZ or not, the principles behind it might well be for your benefit.
This study was published within a cardiology journal and the researchers considered the wider global issues of the climate crisis on cardiac health. They suggest that smoke and other toxins, (such as exhaust fumes) are inhaled and cause issues with respiratory diseases. This is certainly what I have seen (anecdotally) on the Ambulance. These respiratory diseases such as asthma and COPD impact on other systems within the body, causing oxidative stress which can lead to cell damage to organs, including the heart.
But it is not all about those most obvious pollutants, the study also considered noise and light pollution too. We already know that noise pollution (specifically from traffic) has been shown to stunt the growth of baby birds, even whilst inside the egg, and that birds nesting near the noise of traffic have considerably fewer clutches. Further research suggests that birds in close proximity to aircraft noise are also negatively impacted.
It might therefore be reasonable to suggest that humans might similarly be negatively impacted by noise pollution in some way.
This cardiac study proposes that noise and light pollution lead to inflammation within the human body which increases blood pressure and weight gain. These factors inevitably further impact on the functioning of the heart and other body systems.
As global temperatures continue to rise, extreme heat events across the globe are on the increase. These not only lead to dehydration, resulting in low blood volume, but forest and bush fires increase pollution, further increasing the strain on the heart, lungs and kidneys.
The paper also points out that there are other pollutants, that we are exposed to on a daily basis within our homes and gardens, which might also be playing a part and suggest more research is needed in this area.
So, what can we do?
The researchers make a number of recommendations in order to improve the health of populations.
They suggest that city designers consider “heart healthy” options such as planting more trees in built up areas and pedestrianising more of these spaces, along with switching to cleaner vehicles using renewable energy sources.
They suggest ending subsidies to the fossil fuel industry to enable more investment in renewables and cleaner energy production.
They advise that there be medical education about the dangers to health of pollutants and public health campaigns to the highlight these dangers.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land”, leading us to the conclusion that we humans have, in many respects, brought this on ourselves. We have been sold a belief system that is now killing not just the planet, but the human population. At what point will we wake up and sever our ties with these industries?
For me, as a trainee paramedic, I feel the issues raised in these articles need to be heeded, in order to stop the NHS and the Ambulance service from buckling under the strain of an ever-increasingly unhealthy population, made ill by the continuing pollution created by the fossil fuel industry.
This is not a difficult decision to make – the choice is simple – it’s their money or your life?
Nancy Lund
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