Wildfire smoke can harm heart and lungs even after the fire has ended
Health Wildfire smoke can harm heart and lungs even after the fire has ended Maya Brownstein Harvard Chan School Communications June 4, 2025 5 min read First study to fully assess its impact on all major types of cardiovascular, respiratory diseases Being exposed to lingering fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke can have health effects up to three months afterwards, well beyond the couple of days that previous studies have identified, and the exposure can occur even after the fires have ended. These findings were reported in a new study in Epidemiology published on May 28 by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This medium-term exposure to PM2.5 from wildfire smoke was associated with increased risks for various cardiorespiratory conditions, including ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, arrhythmia, hypertension, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma. “Even brief exposures from smaller fires that last only a few days can lead to...