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Four international cardiology societies — the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology, and the World Heart Federation — issued a joint statement urging for regulatory action to address the role of toxic environmental exposures in cardiovascular disease.

In short:

• Growing evidence shows environmental exposures — including air pollution, chemical pollution, plastics, climate change, and artificial noise and light — may be contributing significantly to the rise in cardiovascular disease.
• Of these hazards, air pollution poses the greatest risk, likely by causing inflammation in the lungs and throughout the circulatory system.
• The multiple hazards associated with climate change like extreme heat and wildfires may also threaten cardiovascular health via dehydration, arrhythmia, and severe coronary events (such as heart attacks).

Key quote:

"A unified voice was needed to state clearly that the science is settled—and that continued inaction reflects political and structural inertia rather than scientific uncertainty.”

- Lead study author Dr. Thomas Münzel, via JAMA Medical News

Why this matters:

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, contributing to roughly 44% of deaths from noncommunicable diseases. When speaking with JAMA Medical News, lead author Dr. Münzel contributed at least 1 in 5 of the 20 million annual global cardiovascular disease deaths to environmental hazards. The authors of this statement call on both policymakers and clinicians to address environmental exposures “with the same seriousness as traditional cardiovascular risks,” fully integrating them into regulations and patient care.

Related EHN coverage:

• American Heart Association: Children must be protected from health threats of environmental toxics
• Scientists call for accountability on reducing plastics’ harms: “Plastics cause death from from infancy to old age”

More resources:

• American Heart Association: Environmental exposures and pediatric cardiology

Münzel, T. et al. (2026). Environmental Stressors and Cardiovascular Health: Acting Locally for Global Impact in a Changing World: A Statement of the European Society of Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and the World Heart Federation. Circulation