"Wildfire smoke is bad for your lungs, but now scientists say it may be just as bad for your heart.

As rising global temperatures spark more and more intense fires, a new study out of UC San Francisco suggests smoke may rise as an even bigger problem for cardiovascular health in California — especially among its senior citizens.

“We think about smoking cigarettes as being related to heart disease in medical school,” said Zachary Wettstein, a graduating medical student at UC San Francisco and lead author of the study. “But it’s not a connection physicians typically make with air pollution in general.”"

Nicoletta Lanese reports for the San Jose Mercury News April 11, 2018. [2]