Don’t minimize effects of smoke on the heart

I was dismayed to read the incomplete information about wildfire smoke in recent Times Colonist articles.

Many heart and stroke diseases precede lung issues among the deleterious effects of smoke. In fact, those of us who run the many cleanair societies up and down this coast often joke that people with respiratory problems could be considered the “lucky” ones because at least they know what to avoid.

Those with cardiac conditions are often blindsided by smoke’s effect on them. Suddenly, they have a big problem they didn’t see coming and didn’t know they could have tried to prevent.

The problem with smoke inhalation is the fact that the particulates are too small for the body’s defences to handle. They become embedded in the bloodstream and flesh, and affect every organ, causing many diseases — no one is immune.

We have a large Airshed Roundtable here in Cowichan, as well as a citizen-awareness group called the Fresh Air Cowichan Team, as smoke is a huge problem on the coast with the locked-in valleys blocked by islands.

There is a great deal of knowledge in these roundtables and citizen groups on this coast. These are the ones who should be quoted and listened to — in order to understand the real effects of smoke pollution.

It would be wise for us all to check the Purple Air Map and/or the B.C. Government AQ Index before heading to outdoor activities.

Jennifer Lawson Duncan

Smoke from California’s wildfires was photographed from the International Space Station. A letter-writer says the effects of smoke on cardiac patients are too often ignored.