Extreme Heat Seen To Make Heart-Related Mortality Spike In US, Experts Say

Experts said that extreme heat is seen to make heart-related mortality to increase in the United States.

(Photo : Getty Images/Spencer Platt)

The American Heart Association said that the number of cardiovascular deaths from extreme heat could increase to more than double in the US - and possibly triple - by the middle of the century.

This could happen if no measure is being imposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

A latest study indicated that older adults and non-Hispanic Black adults may be especially at risk for heart-related illnesses.

Role Of Climate Change

Sameed Khatana, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study, explained that climate change and its many manifestations would play an increasingly important role on the health of communities around the world in the coming decades.

Khatana noted that climate change has also been a health equity issue as it will impact certain individuals and populations to a disproportionate degree and may exacerbate preexisting health disparities in the US.

Moreover, Khatana pointed out that how much and how quickly greenhouse gas emissions increase in the next decades would determine the health impacts of extreme heat.

Khatana also said that more aggressive policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are needed in order to have the potential to reduce the number of people who may experience the adverse health effects of extreme heat.

Experts had examined county-by-county data in the continental US in order to demonstrate a link between a greater number of extreme heat days and an increase in cardiovascular deaths between 2008 to 2017.

The data served as a benchmark for the analysis in this new study. Researchers utilized some models for future greenhouse gas emissions and future socioeconomic and demographic makeup of the US population to estimate the possible impact of extreme heat on cardiovascular deaths in the middle years of the current century (2036-2065).

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Findings Of The Study

The researchers estimated the excess number of cardiovascular deaths associated with extreme heat by comparing the predicted number of deaths for each county if no extreme heat occurred versus if the projected number of heat days occurred.

The findings of the study were as follows:

•  Between 2008 and 2019, extreme heat was associated with 1,651 excess cardiovascular deaths per year.
•  Even if currently proposed reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are fully implemented, excess cardiovascular deaths due to extreme heat are projected to be 162% higher in the middle of this century compared to the 2008-2019 baseline.
•  If those greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies are not enforced, excess cardiovascular deaths due to extreme heat are projected to increase 233% in the coming decades.
•  Depending on how aggressively policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are implemented, adults aged 65 and older are projected to have a 2.9 to 3.5 times greater increase in cardiovascular death due to extreme heat in comparison to adults ages 20-64.
•  Non-Hispanic Black adults are projected to have a 3.8 to 4.6 times greater increase in cardiovascular death due to extreme heat compared with non-Hispanic white adults, depending on the degree to which greenhouse policies are implemented.

The study also found out that projected increases in deaths due to extreme heat were not significantly different among adults in other racial or ethnic groups, or between men and women.

Furthermore, it indicated that longer exposures to heat can also lead to more complex changes such as increased inflammation and blood clotting that can increase the risk for heart attack and stroke.

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