Wildfire smoke wafting across the country from North America West blazes may be leading to cardiac and respiratory issues thousands of miles away, a new study has found.

Medical visits for heart and lung issues in the Baltimore region surged by 20 percent during six days in June 2023, when smoke from Western Canada blazes drifted across the continent, according to the study, published on Friday in JAMA Network Open.

These fires, the study authors explained, created a vast plume that traveled about 2,000 miles, creating poor air quality on the East Coast of the United States and causing the uptick in doctor visits.

“Baltimore had very dark skies, and we could all smell the smoke in the air,” lead author Mary Maldarelli, a pulmonary critical care fellow at the University........

© The Hill