Pathways to cardiovascular disease - Part 1: air pollution

In our series of articles, we will go through the life and health factors leading to platelet aggregation, i.e. blood clot formation. Our first topic is air pollution.

The three main factors in cardiovascular disease (CVD): high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and platelet aggregation are the three main causes of blood clots. Unfortunately, there are many more factors related to age, lifestyle, and chronic inflammation that can induce platelet activation, which can lead to blood clot formation.

Platelet hyperactivity is associated with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, or occurs in people living in areas with high air pollution; the increased risk of thrombosis observed in the COVID-19 infection as a result of the listed factors drown the attention to the importance of these issues.

Other factors that can trigger platelet activation that can lead to blood clots include:

• Metabolic diseases are associated with chronic inflammation and platelet activation
• Chronic inflammation associated with infections
• Too much vigorous training, heavy sports
• Smoking / smoggy, polluted air environment
• A lot of tension and stress
• Menopause

Dietary anticoagulants, such as Cardio Fortis Natural Dietary Supplement with Fruitflow® Extract, are suitable for daily use, especially in individuals known to have a higher risk profile for complications from serious infections.

Risk factors include being overweight, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, atherosclerosis, and age over 40.¹

Air pollution

The majority of the world’s population (92%) currently breathe air that fails to meet World Health Organization guidelines. As reported by the Global Burden of Disease Report, outdoor fine particulate matter (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm) exposure is the fifth leading risk factor for death in the world, accounting for 4.2 million deaths [51]. The World Health Organization attributes 3.8 million additional deaths to indoor air pollution. As such, air pollution is now the largest environmental risk factor for health.

Particulate air pollution is related to natural events - volcanic emissions, dust storms, forest fires - and human activities such as vehicle or machinery emissions and traditional cooking practices. Both types of events result in the suspension of soot, gases and other air particulate matter (PM). PM is usually classified by its size; PM₁₀ denotes particles <10 µm in diameter, PM_2.5 particles are <2.5 µm in diameter, and PM_0.1 particles are <0.1 µm in diameter. Smaller PM is more toxic than larger PM, as they are easily transported to more tissues in the body. PM_2.5 are small enough to penetrate lung alveoli, while PM_0.1 pass through the alveolar-capillary membrane and into the bloodstream.² PM in the bloodstream induces cytotoxic and inflammatory responses.

Particulate matter promotes arterial thrombosis and atherosclerosis through increased platelet activation³, leading to accelerated coronary heart disease and strokes, which are the main causes of death from air pollution.^{2, 4}

Some exploratory tests were conducted to expose platelets to airborne particulate matter, such as diesel emissions, in the presence or absence of Fruitflow^®. These in vitro tests showed that Fruitflow^® reduces the platelet activation caused by PM_2.5 by approximately one third.⁵

Related content

On our blog we already dealt with air pollution and COVID-19 in connection with blod clot formation. You find our previous article by clicking here.

Your heart is important to us: prevention, naturally

Cardio Fortis is a natural dietary supplement for healthy blood flow with Fruitflow® extract, rutin and resveratrol to help maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow.

Fruitflow® was evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and in 2009 was awarded the first approved 13.5. Article (proprietary) health claim: "Fruitflow® helps maintain normal platelet aggregation, which contributes to healthy blood flow." ⁶

Cardio Fortis therefore consists of 3 natural ingredients that can contribute to healthy blood circulation and blood vessel health, supporting healthy blood flow. Read more about the product!

For whom is Cardio Fortis recommended?

If you answered yes to any of the questions below, you should take into consideration taking Cardio Fortis on a daily basis.

• Are you over 40?
• Do you live in a smoggy, big city?
• Are you living a stressful life?
• Are you doing too much sedentary work?
• Do you travel a lot by plane?
• Do you engage in strenuous sports activities?
• Have you entered menopause?
• Are you overweight?
• Do you have high cholesterol?
• Do you have diabetes?
• Do you suffer from chronic inflammation?
• Do you have high blood pressure?
• Do you suffer from atherosclerosis?
• Do you suffer from atherothrombosis?

References 

1. _{O’Kennedy, N.; Duttaroy, A.K. Platelet hyperactivity in COVID-19: Can Fruitflow® tomato extract be used as an antiplatelet system? Medical Hypotheses 2021, 147, 110480 (forrás)}

2. _{Cohen, A.J.; Brauer, M.; Burnett, R.; Anderson, H.R.; Frostad, J.; Estep, K.; Balakrishnan, K.; Brunekreef, B.; Dandona, L.; Dandona, R.; et al. [CrossRef] - Estimates and 25-year trends in the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: A Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015. adatainak elemzése. Lancet 2017, 389, 1907–1918.}

1. _{Robertson, S.; Miller, M.R. [CrossRef] – Ambient air pollution and thrombosis. Part. Fibre Toxicol. 2018, 15, 1.}
2. _{Bourdrel, T.; Bind, M.-A.; Bejot, Y.; Morel, O.; Argacha, J.-F. [CrossRef] [PubMed] – Cardiovascular effects of air pollution. Arch. Cardiovasc. Dis. 2017, 110, 634–642.}
3. _{Mussler, B.; Raederstorff, D.; Richard, N. Water Soluble Tomato Extract Protects against Adverse Effects of Air Pollution. International Patent Application published as WO 2018/083137 A1, 11 May 2018.}
4. _{World Health Organization, ‘Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) fact sheet’, Accessed on: 17th October 2017 [WHO]}