New Orleans — When temperatures and humidity levels rise, so does the risk for heart-related emergencies, results of a recent study suggest.
A team led by Tulane University researchers looked at nearly 341,000 ER visits for heart-related issues in one of the hotter and most humid cities in the world: Dhaka, Bangladesh. The researchers modeled the visits against historical temperature and humidity data.
High heat was defined as temperatures above 84° F. Exposure to high heat alone (without considering humidity) was linked to an 8% increase in heart-related emergency visits. On the most humid days – when relative humidity topped 82% – the risk jumped to 26.7%.
High heat and humidity can decrease the evaporation of sweat, hindering one of the body’s prime cooling mechanisms and causing the heart to pump harder than normal, a Tulane press release states.
“These findings show we need to consider heat and humidity together when we discuss any kind of climate change policy,” lead study author Mostafijur Rahman, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane, said in the release. “We know extreme heat can have a negative health impact, but I never expected such a dramatic increase in risk when high humidity is also factored in.
“For average citizens, it’s important to develop habits to beat the heat: stay hydrated, stay indoors, wear breathable clothing and consider visiting air-conditioned public places like malls or libraries.”
The study was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
