Association between particulate matter air pollution and heart attacks in San Diego County

Air pollution is one of the major risk factors contributing to adverse public health outcomes worldwide. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been repeatedly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks. Because PM2.5 is unequally distributed with elevated concentrations near high-traffic and industrial zones, PM2.5 is an environmental justice issue of major public health concern. In this study, we reviewed the relationship between PM2.5, emergency visits due to heart attacks, and environmental justice in San Diego County using data from CalEnviroScreen 3.0. Our results indicate that PM2.5, diesel PM emissions, and emergency visits due to heart attacks are weakly, but positively correlated (r=0.3, R2