Today is your day Boomer! Remember those long, terrible COVID days of constantly wearing masks? Well, some of us still do....for a variety of reasons. But, the masks may be coming back...at least for some of us. Some of us with heart problems. This medical recommendation comes as forest fire season starts in places like the BC Interior and on the heels of a new health study. The Canadian Medical Association Journal says for every 10 micrograms more of PM2.5 — the primary particle in B.C.'s wildfire smoke — in one metre cube of air, a person's combined odds of experiencing at least one of four heart issues was 5.5 per cent greater. "The four arrhythmia studied are all significant risk factors for heart attacks and heart disease, the study notes, supporting decades of evidence that shows higher rates of cancer, chronic disease and premature death in communities that live with poor air quality." CBC News interviewed a doctor from the BC Interior and she suggests using air purifiers with HEPA filters to clean air at home, wearing well-fitted N95 and KN95 respirators (ie. masks!) if spending time outside, and to avoid exercise and heavy breathing on smoky days. By the way Boomers, people with the most heart problems are seniors....that's us, and the much-bigger issue, of course, is climate change as our world warms and is more succeptible to fire. Oh boy, be ready to get out those masks again...

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