High blood pressure remains the first risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, indoor air pollution, loaded with invisible fine particles, may well be a silent engine of this increase in blood pressure.
HEPA filters, an unexpected ally against hypertension
HEPA filters (High Efficiency Particular Air) are devices capable of capturing 99.97 % of the fine particles present in the air, including those of diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). These particles, from road traffic and combustion, infiltrate even in our homes and reach the lungs, then blood circulation.
In a study conducted with 154 adults living near Massachusetts highways, the researchers compared the effect of an active HEPA purifier with a dummy device. Result: in participants with systolic pressure greater than 120 mm Hg, the average value has dropped 2.8 mm Hg with the filter, against a slight increase in 0.2 mm Hg with the false purifier. The final gap therefore reaches 3.0 mm Hg in favor of the real filter.
© Jacc
Graphic summary of the study
As the researcher Dougglas Brugge sums it up: “This research is added to the increasing numerous evidence that simple interventions, such as filtration of home air, can help improve the heart health of people at risk“.
Why interior pollution weighs on your arteries
PM2.5 cause chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and hardening of blood vessels, so many mechanisms that feed hypertension. Jonathan Newman, cardiologist at New York University, insists: “The evidence is overwhelming concerning the harmful effects of exposure to PM2.5, even at levels lower than current American standards“.
These results recall that pollution is not only an external problem. At home too, what you breathe can weigh on heart health. As Harlan M. Krumholz de Yale points out: “Even if more research is necessary, these results suggest that what we breathe in us can count for our cardiovascular health“.
How to act today to protect your tension
Adopt a HEPA air purifier in your living room or bedroom, taking care to choose a model adapted to the size of the room and certified without ozone emission. Used regularly, it reduces the load of fine particles to which you are exposed. This simple, accessible and daily gesture then becomes an effective barrier against an invisible factor in hypertension.
But a purifier is not the only weapon. You can also reduce your tension by following other medical recommendations:
- Limit salt and favor a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fibers.
- Move at least 30 minutes a day.
- Reduce your alcohol consumption and stop tobacco.
- Maintain a stable weight and quality sleep.
Combined with a purest air, these gestures reinforce your chances of keeping blood pressure in the standard and of permanently protecting your heart.