In Minnesota, eating well, getting enough exercise, and watching our weight are all vital to keeping your heart healthy, but it may not be enough. You also need to breathe CLEAN AIR. We breathe up to 20,000 liters of air every day. Vital to our respiratory health, stress upon our heart, especially the lungs of young infants.

“What?” you may ask. “How does the air I breathe affect my heart?” Studies have shown that “long-term, chronic exposure to air pollution seems to manifest more in cardiovascular disease than it does in respiratory disease”.

Indoor Air Pollution may be up to 100 times more harmful to our health than the air outdoors. Both outdoor and indoor air is full of particulate matter (PM). The larger particles, like pollen, get caught in our nose or throat  - the smaller such as dust mites and dust mite feces can attack our immune system’s first line of defense in capturing air pollution. During the winter months our homes may become trapped with bacteria, viruses, dust mites, mold, pollen and more. People with weakened immune systems may have difficulty fighting these microbial pests. Hence, long term effects such as Asthma and Allergy may occur.

Advanced Air Purification Technology    can combat and may reduce these irritants by reversing its allergy/asthma cycle. But after thousands and thousands of years, our immune system is a little outdated. We can no longer defend ourselves against every kind of airborne and particulate matter of today. Outdoors, automobiles, construction sites and power plants, for example, emit PM that is 2.5 microns in size or less – that’s smaller than our bodies can naturally repel. Indoor air pollution is just as concerning, as most people in the US spend nearly 90% of their time indoors. Cooking, burning candles and wood burning fireplaces (not to mention tobacco smoke) also create PM that is as small as 2.5 microns. These minute particles can work their way into the deepest parts of our lungs and actually move into the bloodstream where air pollution related heart problems begin. These pollutants also cause inflammation in the lungs actually accelerating the development of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, and can lead to ischemic heart disease, which causes heart attacks and other heart related problems. The EPA estimates that fine particulate exposure kills 20,000 people every year, and hospitalizes even more.

There is good news combating these submicroscopic organisms in our air. Having proper ventilation, filtration and air purification may reduce these airborne distractions. HEPA Air Filtration is highly recommended for high performance filtration. If properly applied with other related components it can be very effective. There is no simple solution.

Just because our bodies can’t naturally filter the smaller end of the PM spectrum doesn’t mean that we are completely defenseless. By implementing indoor air quality products, such as high quality HEPA or MERV air filters you can dramatically reduce your exposure to these harmful pollutants. Installing an air filter into your HVAC system is a great way to do this, because it is a convenient and cost effective whole-house solution. MERV 13 rated air filters can capture 65% of particles as small as .1 microns, and 90% of particles in the 1.0 – .30 micron range. If you don’t have an HVAC system, portable air filters are a viable option for pollutant reduction in your home. Either way, it’s nice to know you have some control over the quality of the indoor air you breathe which can result in keeping a healthier heart.

For further information visit http://tcheatingair.com/indoor_air_quality.html