[Urban air pollution and cardiovascular disease]

Atmospheric pollution is not considered to be a factor of cardiovascular risk in the same way as passive smoking, arterial hypertension or coronary heredity. Passive smoking is now recognised as a factor of high cardiovascular death rate and must provoke public authorities to reinforce the measures to ban smoking in public places. With regard to other pollutants, carbon monoxide, by chronic hypoxia, has been incriminated in destabilisation of high risk patients--coronary or cardiac insufficiency. The responsibility of other polluting agents on cardiovascular death rate, NO2, SO2, or O3 has not been shown clearly, because many confusing factors intervene, especially in the matter of coronary atherosclerosis.