The Impact of Air Pollution on Emergency Admissions of Heart Attack Cases in Tehran: 2007-2012

Tehran is one of the most polluted cities in the world and the result is the incidence of different diseases. In this study data on the number of heart attacks, air pollutants and climatic factors during 2007 to 2011 were gathered to analyse the association between air pollution and heart attack.

In this analytic-descriptive ecological study the effect of mean daily concentration ​​of CO, O3, NO2, SO2 and PM10 on the daily number of heart attack admissions was investigated. Emergency admission data for heart attack was obtained from Tehran Emergency Center, pollutants data were inquired from Tehran Air Quality Control Corp and data for climatic factors were inquired from Tehran Meteorological Organization. Statistical analysis was performed using negative binominal regression and through Stata 12.

Results showed significant correlations between the number of heart attacks and daily concentrations of CO, NO2, SO2, O3 and PM10. Air pressure and mean minimum temperature were also significantly associated with the number of heart attacks admissions.

With regard to the relationship between elevated air pollution and number of heart attacks in Tehran, immediate measures to control air pollutants in Tehran are recommended.