THURSDAY, June 13, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Climate change is harming the heart health of people around the world, a new review warns. Extreme temperatures, hurricanes and other dangerous weather events all contribute to an increased risk of heart disease and heart-related death, researchers reported June 12 in the journal JAMA Cardiology . “Climate change is already adversely affecting cardiovascular health in the U.
S. and worldwide,” said researcher Dhruv Kazi , associate director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Center for Outcomes Research in Boston. “Urgent action is needed to mitigate climate change-related cardiovascular risk, particularly among our most vulnerable populations.
” Over the last century, the average global temperature has increased by more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said. This has led to long-term shifts in weather patterns, rising sea levels and disrupted ecosystems. The hottest 10 years on record have all occurred in the past decade, researchers noted.
For this review, researchers evaluated data from nearly 500 previous studies conducted between 1970 and 2023. The studies all looked at associations between heart health and weather phenomena, including extreme temperatures, wildfire smoke, ozone pollution, salt-water intrusion and events like hurricanes, dust storms and droughts. They found that the heart health of older adults, minority groups and the poor are disproportionately affected by climate change.
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