78. Environmental air pollution: A new emerging factor for coronary artery disease

The Arab world covers a vast geographic area, consisting of 23 countries with a combined population of about 358 million people. Geographically, this part of the globe is variable ranging from dry desert areas to heavily raining green land. It is unique for its wide cultural, social, ethnic variations and in pattern of health and disease. The rapid economical changes in Middle East attract large number of people to the metropolitan cities of Middle East especially the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The urban areas of Middle East are facing challenges of air pollution driven by industrialization and rapidly growing vehicle fleets. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of air pollution on coronary artery disease. Material and methods: In this study, we identified 72 published studies through a systematic database searches including ISI-web of science and pub-med. We searched the related literature by using the key words including environmental pollution, coronary artery disease. All studies in which environmental pollution and coronary artery disease was investigated were included in the study. No limitations on publication status, study design or language of publication were implemented. Finally, we included 52 publications and remaining 20 were excluded from the study. Results: Environmental pollution exert their detrimental effects on heart by developing pulmonary inflammation, systemic inflammation, enhanced coagulation, thrombosis, acute arterial vasoconstriction, atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Conclusion: Environmental pollution exert detrimental effects on the heart. The researchers and physicians must consider the environmental pollution as an emerging factor in the development of coronary artery disease