HEPA Filters May Improve Cardiovascular Health
A breath of filtered indoor air mayhelp your health, according to researchers in Denmark.Using high efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters for just two dayssignificantly improved a key measure of cardiovascular health in healthy,nonsmoking elderly individuals, according to a study published in thesecond February issue of the American Journal of Respiratory andCritical Care Medicine.”Our main finding was a significant improvement in the function ofsmall finger blood vessels after reduction of indoor air particles. Thiseffect most likely indicates a general improvement in the function of theinner lining of small vessels, including those supplying the heart,” Dr.Steffen Loft, of the Institute of Public Health in Copenhagen, said in aprepared statement.Abnormal function of the inner lining of small vessels is known to be apredictor of dangerous or possibly fatal cardiovascular events.HEPA filtration removed about 60 percent of the ultrafine, fine andcoarse air particles in homes, according to researchers, and wasassociated with an 8.1 percent improvement in individual microvascularfunction (MVF).”This suggests that indoor air filtration represents a feasible meansof reducing cardiovascular risk,” he said.The researchers measured ambient airborne particles in the homes of 21nonsmoking couples, aged 60 to 75, who lived close to heavily traffickedroads. Each couple used air purifiers for two 48-hour periods. During oneperiod, the purifier was equipped with a HEPA filter, and during theother, it ran without it. The size distribution and number concentrationof indoor air particles in each home were continuously monitored.Each couple’s individual MVF was assessed using a noninvasive fingersensor.”We expected that removing air particles with the HEPA filters wouldresult in improvement of MVF, but we were heartened and surprised by theextent it did, considering the modest levels of particles in the indoorair of the homes of the elderly,” Loft said.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has more about improving indoorair quality.
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