Study to explore impact of indoor air pollution on heart failure patients
T'puram: Air pollution is increasingly being recognised as a serious threat to heart health, contributing to heart failure and other cardiovascular conditions. To explore whether cleaner indoor air can lead to better health outcomes for heart failure patients, the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) launched a new study.
The research is part of the Indo-US collaborative agreement on environmental and occupational health and focuses on one key question: Can reducing indoor air pollution improve the health of people with heart failure?
The study is being carried out at three major medical centres in India: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi; Dayanand Medical College (DMC), Ludhiana; and SCTIMST, Trivandrum.
As part of the study, air purifiers were installed in the homes of 10 heart failure patients in Trivandrum and Kollam districts. The plan is to expand this number and install a total of 200 air purifiers in patients' homes across these districts.
"Air pollution is often seen as a problem of cities and traffic, but indoor air pollution is equally dangerous, especially in places where people spend most of their time — their homes.
For patients with heart failure, who are particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors, breathing cleaner air could significantly reduce complications, hospitalisations, and even death," Dr Harikrishnan S, the principal investigator, said.
He said if successful, it could lead to new guidelines for managing heart failure, emphasising the importance of air quality at home. It may also inform national health policies, making air purifiers a potential part of patient care for high-risk groups.
The findings could benefit millions of people living in polluted regions, not just in India, but globally.
With heart disease being the leading cause of death in India, innovative, evidence-based interventions are urgently needed. By focusing on the connection between clean air and cardiac health, this research places India at the forefront of an emerging area of public health. SCTIMST and its partners are hopeful that the study will provide valuable data to shape the future of care for heart failure patients — one breath at a time, Dr Harikrishnan added.
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