ABSTRACT
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In recent years it has become widely appreciated that inhaled particles have adverse effects beyond
the lungs and may exert an important influence on the cardiovascular system. This concept has
come to the fore as a result of the burgeoning epidemiological literature documenting associations
between exposure to environmental particles (PM
) and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
The expansion in our knowledge of the impact of particles on the cardiovascular system provides
the focus of the present review. Because of the importance of the combustion-derived component of
PM in determining adverse effects in the lungs (reviewed extensively by the authors elsewhere,
Donaldson et al. 2005) and the link between nanoparticles and the cardiovascular system, this
review focuses largely on the role of combustion-derived nanoparticles (CDNP).
