02:26 PM
Friday 12 August 2022
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Scientists link high temperatures with the risk of heart attacks, and a recent study found that the chances of heart attacks increase with taking some medications in hot weather.
The study linked beta-blockers that lower blood pressure and aspirin or other anticoagulant drugs to a higher risk of heart attacks in heat waves, according to “The Independent Arabia”.
Researchers at Yale University in Connecticut note that coronary heart patients who take both beta-blockers and aspirin or other anticoagulant drugs are more likely to have nonfatal heart attacks during heat waves.
Professor Kai Chin, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, said: “Patients who take these two drugs are at greater risk. During heat waves, they really have to be careful.”
For the study, researchers looked at 2,494 nonfatal heart attacks in Augsburg, Germany during the hottest months from May to September from 2001 to 2014.
The research found that people who were taking “beta-blockers” or anti-platelet aggregation medications were more likely to have a heart attack on hot days, compared to days when they were not exposed to the heat.
For patients who took the antiplatelet medication, there was a 63 percent increased risk of a nonfatal heart attack. As for beta-blocker users, the risk was increased by 65 percent, while those who were taking both drugs had a 75 percent higher risk.
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In contrast, the study found that individuals who did not use such medications were less likely to have a heart attack during hot weather.
On the other hand, the study does not directly confirm the existence of a relationship between the use of “beta-blockers” and anticoagulant drugs on the one hand and the increased chances of a heart attack, because patients’ underlying heart diseases can explain the higher risk of heart attacks during hot weather.
But the researchers found that younger patients, ages 25 to 59, who took such drugs, were more likely to have heat-related heart attacks.
Dr. Chen of the Yale School of Public Health said: “We hypothesize that some medications may make it difficult to regulate body temperature.”
This study was published in the journal Nature Cardiovascular Research, which publishes important advances in cardiovascular and blood biology.
Finally, it should be noted that previous research has shown that exposure to heat or cold makes the risk of heart attacks more likely, with scientists expecting that rates of heat-related heart attacks are increasing, once the planet warms from two to three degrees Celsius, due to the climate crisis.
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