It is a well known fact that pollution is harmful for health and can lead to various problems in human beings. A new research has established that urban pollution leads to increased blood pressure and has a bad impact on the overall health.

For this study, German researchers studied 5,000 people and they found that a long-term exposure to urban pollution lead to increase in blood pressure. Health experts stress that efforts should be made to reduce the level of pollution in cities around the world.

Exposure to pollution increases the risk of atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries which can lead to cardiovascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes. It is already known that there is a close link between air pollution and heart and circulatory diseases.

Earlier studies have also proved that there is a link between air pollution and increased blood pressure. But the medium and long term impact of pollution on human health was not known.

The study found that the blood pressure rose with exposure to fine particulate matter which mainly comes from traffic, heating, industry and power plants. Women were at a higher risk as compared to men.

Researchers maintain that people living in urban areas with higher pollution level had on an average a higher rate of blood pressure. Some researchers feel that more research is needed to further understand this study.