The wildfire smoke that has blanketed the state this month could take a toll on the health of Michiganians long after clearing.

The particles that form plumes of wildfire smoke are small (the average human hair is at least 30 times larger). That means they can seep into our blood, where they pose a triple threat to our lungs, hearts and brains, medical researchers say.

Doctors and medical researchers have known for decades that air pollution is linked to early death, said Sara Adar, a University of Michigan epidemiology professor and associate editor at the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

From there, they discovered that air pollution hurts the respiratory and circulatory systems. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says particulate matter exposure can cause c

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