key: cord-0813666-8h7q82mr authors: Pinto, Fausto J.; Armstrong-Walenczak, Kelcey; Sliwa, Karen title: Climate Action for Health: An Urgent Call from the Global Cardiovascular Community date: 2021-05-03 journal: Glob Heart DOI: 10.5334/gh.1051 sha: 987be15cfd05440be35eaffaf3ae6f8841946ca6 doc_id: 813666 cord_uid: 8h7q82mr The current and immediate past Presidents of the World Heart Federation are pleased to publish this invited editorial to demonstrate the organization’s strong, ongoing commitment to addressing the impacts of air pollution on cardiovascular health and outline its strategy for action. transit, investment in wind and solar energy, and stricter emissions controls on building and industrial pollutants at national and city levels across the EU, from Granada to Ljubljana [7] . Recent initiatives of the U.S.'s new Biden Administration, including the motions to re-engage with the Paris Climate Agreement and ask Congress to reduce fossil fuel subsidies, and by private industry, such as GM's commitment to sell only zero-emission vehicles by the year 2035 [8] , do much to demonstrate the political will necessary to create a virtuous cycle of cleaner air and healthier populations. The health sector as a whole, which bears the healthcare costs from the impacts of air pollution, can also provide much-needed support for ministries of environment, energy, and transportation, which are traditionally responsible for mitigation efforts. Yet while structural actions to mitigate pollution emissions are ultimately necessary to reduce harmful exposures, health care providers can play several important roles while the mitigation measures are being developed and implemented. First, clinicians can advocate for air pollution mitigation as a health measure, and we invite interested readers to visit the website of the World Heart Federation to learn more about how they can get involved. Second, clinicians can provide patients with personal measures to reduce exposures and associated risk at the individual level. Health care providers can integrate air pollution into disease management approaches. And finally, the public health sector can evaluate policies to reduce air pollution and quantify both the health benefits and healthcare cost savings. To develop a more comprehensive response to this growing global challenge, the World Heart Federation (WHF) has convened a high-level Air Pollution Expert Group (APEG) to foster and guide its work in this area. The complexity and scale of this issue create an unfortunate lack of understanding among those with the power to make change for good, including doctors and policymakers, which in turn results in a subsequent lack of concerted action. WHF is ideally poised to address the low levels of acknowledgment and acceptance of the impacts of air pollution on circulatory health among cardiology societies, heart-health foundations, and institutes of medical education and their members working on the front lines of healthcare and health policymaking. By consolidating existing evidence to make a strong case for action, educating key target audiences across sectors and borders, and advocating for policies that mitigate and limit the negative impacts of air pollution on heart health, together the ten distinguished members of the APEG will drive progress towards the overall objective of reducing the negative health outcomes caused by the effects of air pollution on the cardiovascular system, as detailed in the group's newly published strategy. An official policy brief will follow. Despite the massive disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reasons for optimism in the movement towards cleaner air. Broad societal lockdowns have shown us a glimpse of what a future with strong air pollution measures could yield: many cities, notably New Delhi, experienced for the first time in decades a fresh breath of clean air that can serve as an ongoing goal for cross-sectoral cooperation. Greater recognition of underlying vulnerabilities and inequities that have driven disparities in COVID-19 severity can help target the contributors to poor health, and support from across disparate sectors can raise the profile of air pollution on the global political agenda. By working together to demand and enact strong policies to counter air pollution, we can envision blue skies ahead for heart health around the world. A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study Particulate matter air pollution and cardiovascular disease: An update to the scientific statement from the Expert position paper on air pollution and cardiovascular disease Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: JACC state-of-the-art review Short-term exposure to air pollution and stroke: Systematic review and meta-analysis Air pollution and noncommunicable diseases: A review by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies' Environmental Committee, Part 2: Air pollution and organ systems Alados-Arboledas L. Evaluation of the impact of transportation changes on air quality will sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035 The authors have no competing interests to declare.