Air Pollution Poses Heart Risk to Postmenopausal Women

This is some scary news, women!
Postmenopausal women who live in areas with higher air pollution levels have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and of dying from it.
That's the conclusion of new research that found the risk of heart disease is higher than previously thought, and there can be substantial variations within individual cities.
"The risk of having a cardiovascular event, that is, a heart attack, stroke or needing bypass surgery, or of dying of a cardiovascular cause, was increased," said study senior author Dr. Joel Kaufman, professor of environmental and occupational medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington.
The study is the first to look at new cases of cardiovascular disease, not just death. It was also the first to look at air pollution levels within cities. The results are published in the Feb. 1 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"It's an important study," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "They showed that very small particulate matter can penetrate into the lungs and cause damage over time."