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Abstract

Chronic exposure to air pollution, especially to fine particulates, is a primary public health risk factor. While in Germany air quality has improved substantially in the past three decades, and the air quality standards of the European Union are met most of the time, the stricter guidelines of the World Health Organization are still exceeded. Fine particulate matter pollution causes chronic oxidative stress in the respiratory and vascular system, which induces inflammatory responses in the lungs and vessels and beyond, even at relatively low concentrations. This leads to excess mortality by respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. In Germany, about 42000 excess deaths per year from air pollution are related to ischemic heart disease and about 6700 per year to strokes. Therefore, the mitigation of air pollution could help prevent cardiovascular diseases as effectively as the banning of tobacco smoking.