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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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How Is Climate Change Related To Heart Disease? Being the leading cause of death worldwide, heart disease is responsible for 1 in every 4 deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Heart disease encompasses a wide range of cardiovascular problems. Types of heart disease include arrhythmia (heart rhythm abnormality), atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), cardiomyopathy (heart muscles harden or grow weak), congenital heart defects (heart irregularities that are present at birth), coronary artery disease (caused by the buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries), and heart infections. Smoking, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol are some key risk factors for heart disease. Several medical conditions and lifestyle choices such as diabetes, overweight and obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol use can put people at a higher risk of heart disease, too. Nevertheless, there are other things that can also cause heart disease, for instance, sleep deprivation, stress, oral health, and even climate change. According to research, extreme weather, poor air quality, and vector-borne diseases that are linked to climate change, may push rates of heart disease even higher than they are today. Heat waves, stagnant air pollution, and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria put strain on the heart, even in people without a history of cardiovascular disease. Temperature hotter than usual can have serious implications on heart health. In one study, published in March 2017 in the ‘Iranian Journal of Public Health’, researchers looked at 11 years of heart-related deaths in Mashhad, Iran, where the average summer high temperature is 94 degrees F. They then created a simulation of how much heart-related deaths would increase by combining that data with temperature forecasts for the next 5 decades. They found that an increase of just 1.8 degrees F in average maximum temperatures in Mashhad would lead to a 4 percent increase in cardiovascular deaths.
When the core body temperature increases, the body will try to cool itself by shifting the blood from the organs to under the skin. This will increase the demand on the heart to pump blood. Heat also causes the body to become more easily dehydrated, causing changes in blood pressure. Meanwhile, the physical and emotional stress that extreme weather will put on the cardiovascular system can turn an acute heart problem into a fatal one. The body responds to these extremes, and the heart rate rises, and the blood vessels constrict and all of that is hard on the heart. Powerful storms and major droughts that set up wildfires to burn hotter and longer can be fueled by climate change. The stress of natural disasters excessively impacts the poor and the elderly, putting these populations at a higher risk of being hospitalized for a cardiac event following a natural disaster. Cardiovascular diseases account for 60 to 80 percent of air pollution-related deaths worldwide, as reported by findings published in November 2017, in ‘Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases’. Particulate matter (PM), among many forms of air pollution, is the air pollutant that research has most strongly tied to heart health. Particulate matter can be classified into 2 categories: inhalable coarse particles and fine particles like those found in smog. The fine PM can penetrate deep into the lungs and blood vessels, deposit there, and cause problems. Once a person breathes air that is mixed with fine particles, the pollution changes blood flow to the heart, resulting in higher blood pressure. Elevated blood pressure will cause the heart to work harder to keep up with the pace. Changes in blood pressure can also cause the coronary arteries to slowly become narrowed from a buildup of plaque. For years, scientists have been monitoring how climate change has impacted on vector-borne diseases that are already known to kill millions every year. Climate change has expanded the range of mosquitoes and birds that are known to carry the parasite responsible for malaria and dengue fever. Malaria has a potential two-fold impact on heart disease. While existing heart conditions could trigger complications in people who are exposed to malaria, research suggests that contracting the disease could also cause heart failure in people without a history of heart disease. Date: November 19, 2020
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