People who live in excessively smoggy areas tend to have higher rates of Heart disease, according to several studies. Scientists exposed rats to ozone — a major component of smog when it forms near the ground from hydrocarbons — for various periods of time. The rats exposed to ozone had increased levels of inflammation, decreased levels of proteins that protect the heart which is though to trigger a process that causes heart cells to die.
Read the entire article by Los Angeles Times.