For Delhiwalas, it is important to understand this number—10.2 years. Where will this 10-year period really go? You can’t just subtract 10 years from your future old age; it’s a lot harder to get rid of it. This 10-year period will translate into worsened respiratory and cardiac health amongst other ailments. This decrease in lifespan will either be directly due to particulate pollution or by exacerbation of unrelated existing conditions that will eventually lead to unexpected death or disability. Multiple studies, including some large-scale ones with over 66,000 patients, have had found this strong co-relation between air pollution and heart health. Bad air contributes to early deaths due to cardiovascular diseases like heart failure, stroke and arrhythmia (irregular beating of the heart). An example of exacerbation of a pre-existing condition was found in this 2002 paper that concluded that exercising or working in a polluted atmosphere significantly increases the odds of a heart attack in patients with a history of cardiac ailments.