Cardiac patients increased due to air pollution, says health expert

New Delhi [India], November 7 : As Delhi's air quality continues to remain in the 'severe' category, the cardiac patient load has increased substantially, a health expert said.
Dr SK Chhabra, head of the department of Pulmonary, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine at Primus Hospital, Delhi while speaking with ANI said, "In the last 2 weeks, I've noticed a substantial increase in daily admissions in hospital. Over 50 per cent of people are reporting pneumonia and breathing problems."
"This is a seasonal trend which is being repeated year after year now," he added.
The doctor said that patients of all ages, young and old, with no medical history are also visiting the hospital now.
"The patients with acute asthma, cardiac complaints are also coming with angina (a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart)," he added.
Expressing concern over the deteriorating air quality, Chhabra said, "Some steps have been taken but somehow the problem seems to be increasing faster than what we have managed. Every November the AQI is worsening."
As per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi's AQI is presently at 432.