• Lorena Ruiz Bautista.
• Servicio de Cardiología, Hospital Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, España. Electronic address: Lorena.rbautista@quironsalud.es.
• Med Clin (Barc). 2019 Aug 2; 153 (3): 100-105.

Introduction And ObjectivesOne of the main sources of energy in Spain is still coal combustion. It releases multiple pollutants into the atmosphere, such as PM2.5, that has been linked to an increase in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this paper are: 1) to determine the national distribution of these particles and their proximity to coal plants, 2) to estimate the cardiovascular impact of PM2.5 particles in Spain in 2014.MethodsIn order to complete the national pollutant dispersion study, we used the CALPUFF model. The epidemiologic and demographic data were obtained from the National Statistics Institute. The associations «pollutant-effect» were obtained by internationally validated methodologies.ResultsThe total number of deaths due to coal pollutants were 709, from which 586 (82.6%) were related to PM2.5 particles. Most of them were due to myocardial infarctions, fatal strokes and heart failure, adding up to 170 cases of mortality related to PM2.5 (29%). The greatest densities were found in the regions of Asturias and Castilla y León.ConclusionsThis study describes an increase in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in Spain, due to coal combustion pollutants. It finds a greater impact in the provinces of Asturias and Castilla León, where a higher presence of coal power plants can be found. This reflects that the people that live in those areas have a greater risk of cardiovascular death due to PM2.5 pollutant exposure from coal.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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