Story Content

It has been found that among more than 32 million cardiovascular deaths over four decades, happened on days that experienced extreme hot and cold weather. Deaths caused by heart diseases like ischemic heart disease, heart failure, stroke and arrhythmia are linked with weather conditions. Barrak Alahmad, research fellow in Harvard T.H. Chan School has stated that the rate of heart disease deaths caused due to tobacco consumption, type 2 diabetes, blood pressure and physical inactivity has gone a steady decline since the 1960’s and is been considered as a major healthcare success but environment and climate changes are becoming a threat.

To understand the deaths caused due to environment and climate researchers compared cardiovascular deaths on hot and coldest 2.5% of days for each city with deaths on days with prime temperatures in same city. It was found that extreme high temperature days caused 2.2 added deaths and on extreme low temperature days there were 9.1 added deaths.

Doctors and scientists advise that people with delicate heart conditions should be made aware of the effects of temperature on their health and to be more careful during such days. Dr. Alahmad believes thaton hot days sweating increases that increases heart rate and will increase metabolic state and oxygen consumption along with electrolytes imbalance altogether making these people at risk. Some researchers stated that during cold weather the cholesterol crystals get deposited in blood vessels and can also lead to heart attacks.

It’s difficult to estimate deaths caused due to temperature extremes at global level as data from many countries across Middle East, south Asia and Africa have not been collected by studies done by researchers like Dr. Alahmad.

To reduce this one must be aware of his/her surroundings and health situation.