Every year in the summer, warnings are issued about the health risks of heat. However, a new American study concludes that extremely low temperatures are much more dangerous. The death rate from cardiovascular disease is then about a third higher.
In concrete terms, mortality was 33 percent higher on the days with the lowest temperatures due to heart attacks and as a result of chronic heart failure. The risk of a fatal stroke increased by 37 percent. Extreme heat, on the other hand, led to ‘only’ seven percent more deaths from heart attacks. The measure for the US study was the temperature at which cardiovascular mortality was lowest. Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, were defined as those values that represented one percent of the coldest or hottest.
Heart failure weather dependent
The research team looked at 27 countries on all continents. For example, they took into account temperatures in Helsinki of up to minus 30 degrees Celsius, but also with high temperatures such as in Kuwait City with plus 44 degrees Celsius. Depending on the weather, chronic heart failure was the most dangerous. According to the scientists, this led to the highest excess mortality on extremely hot and extremely cold days. This deserves special attention in view of climate change.
Barrak Alahmad and co-authors reported on death dates of more than 32 million deaths (1979 to 2019) from cardiovascular disease and prevailing temperatures. Diseases include heart attack, stroke and congestive heart failure. The research team took into account the climatic conditions that otherwise prevail in the cities.
Source: Krone
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