Air pollution causes the premature death of tens of thousands of people in the UK every year. Toxic carbon monoxide gas is one of the problem pollutants.
The way that even low levels of
carbon monoxide can be fatal, by disrupting the heart's rhythm, has been
unravelled by researchers in Leeds.
They found that levels common in heavy traffic could affect the way the heart
resets itself after every beat....study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine...
Full story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19093308
More on UK air pollution issues here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/28/uk-cities-ban-polluting-traffic and here http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/environmental-audit-committee/news/air-quality-a-follow-up-report/
