ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 25 (UPI) -- Long-term exposure to air pollution speeds up atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries," and increases the risk of heart attack, U.S. researchers say.
Study leader Sara Adar of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Joel Kaufman of the University of Washington, found higher concentrations of fine particulate air pollution were linked to a faster thickening of the inner two layers of the common carotid artery -- a blood vessel that provides blood to the head, neck and brain.