more fbi urging olympic athletes to keep personal phones at home performance while exercising is mainly determined by cardiovascular function rather than lung function dr carol cross a professor of internal medicine and physiology at university of california at davis told abc news its hard to limit maximal exercise performance from a small decrement in lung function cross said but some people who are extremely sensitive could also experience cardiovascular abnormalities or even irregular heartbeats as a result of the air pollution avol said while china is among the worlds worst air polluted countries on thursday the air quality index in beijing was ranked at 25 a good rating likely resulting from the chinese government instituting strict restrictions on industry and traffic as a way to reduce the pollutants and present the country in the best light while on the world stage the experts said a man wearing a face mask stands on a frozen canal near the closed loop bubble surrounding venues of the beijing 2022 winter olympics on a hazy day in beij show more thomas peterreuters research published in 2013 that measured the inflammation in the blood of healthy people during the 2008 summer olympics in beijing found that when the pollution went down due to the traffic and industry bans so did the inflammation present when the country returned to business as usual and the pollution went back up the inflammation got worse the study found but as early as last week the city was still struggling with thick smog as concentrations of pm25 measured at 205 micrograms per cubic meter on jan 24 exceeding recommendations by the world health organization the south china morning post reported fireworks at celebratory events could worsen the air quality even more and exacerbate symptoms mccormack said while heinz described the conditions the athletes must train and perform in as unfortunate more communities with large black asian and hispanic or latino populations more likely to be exposed to air pollution new research suggests to have some external environmental effects in this case tremendous smog or pollution basically diminished their ability to do their best is terribly unfair heinz said the experts advised anyone living or traveling to a region with poor air quality to wear a mask stay indoors as much as possible and use an air purifier with a hepa filter people with preexisting conditions such as asthma should make a plan ahead of time mccormack said such as bringing extra inhalers or prednisone in the event of a severe reaction the athletes would be wise to check the air quality on days they are scheduled to train or compete and alter their plans accordingly avol said