'Significant effect': bushfire smoke hits the heart, lungs and brain

Professor Doan Ngo said heart health issues in the Black Summer "coincided with the combination of the heat and bushfires". Picture by Simone De Peak

Exposure to bushfire smoke worsens heart and lung conditions and raises big health questions, say Newcastle researchers who examined the Black Summer fires.

A Hunter Medical Research Institute [HMRI] team found that PM10 particle pollution from bushfires had a "significant effect on heart and lung function" - even over a short period.