Extreme weather increases risk of heart attack or stroke, study finds

Cold weather brings with it the flu and other viral and bacterial infections. But a new research has shown that extreme weather conditions could have more severe impact on your health, like increasing your risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases. Researchers say their finds point to the need for expedited action to mitigate the effect of climate change.

Heightened risk

A study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation, looked at more than 32 million cardiovascular deaths over 40 years. The team of international researchers found that more deaths occurred on days when temperatures were at their highest or lowest compared to more moderate climate days.

The study focused on heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. The findings revealed that people with heart failure had a 37% increased risk of dying in extreme cold. Haitham Khraishah, MD, co-author of the study said:

One in every 100 cardiovascular deaths may be attributed to extreme temperature days, and temperature effects were more pronounced when looking at heart failure deaths.

Impact on climate change

According to the research, climate change poses an extra risk factor in heart disease deaths as it is associated with more extreme temperatures. Dr. Khraishah added:

While we do not know the reason why temperature effects were more pronounced with heart failure patients it could be due to the progressive nature of heart failure as a disease.

Climate change has been found to cause weather extremes on both ends of the spectrum with hotter summers and colder winters. However, data from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa were under-represented in the study.

Sources used:

American Heart Association: Extremely hot and cold days linked to cardiovascular deaths

Euronews: You’re more likely to die from heart diseases on extremely cold or hot days, scientists find