Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease During Seasonal Temperature Changes

Abstract

Climate change poses a high risk to human health, both directly and indirectly, through various mechanisms.it is clear that climatic pressure is a hidden risk factor in sudden cardiovascular diseases. Our goal is to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular disease during seasonal temperature changes. We want to know the frequency of cardiovascular disease as the weather varies seasonally. This is a cross-sectional retrospective hospital-based study that This research lasted from 2023 to 2024.and was conducted at Nangarhar University Teaching Hospital in the internal medicine ward on patients who were admitted to the hospital. In this study, we reviewed 800 Patients files who were hospitalized with hypertension, cardiac ischemia, and heart failure. In this research, we only selected, conveniently, the patients from January and July as Sample months of the year. Because the coldest month of the year in Jalalabad is January, with a low temperature, and the hottest month is July, where the temperature is high. In this research, all the files of cardiovascular patients who were hospitalized in hot and cold seasons during one year have been processed. Gender, age, ischemic heart disease (IHD), heart failure (HF) and hypertension (HTN) are factors taken into account in this study. The analysis of this research was done by Excel and IBM-SPSS Version 26. Eight hundred patients with heart failure, hypertension, and myocardial ischemia were included in the study. There were 278 (34.75%) males and 522 (65.25%) females in this number. The patient's age statistics are as follows: mean age = 58.33±12.66, max age = 110 years, mod age = 60 years. 350 patients (43.75%) had ischemic heart disease (IHD), 250 patients (31.25%) had hypertension (HTN), and 200 patients (25%) had heart failure (HF). There were 130 patients in total in January (16.37%). The distribution of cardiovascular disease in January was IHD 50 (38%), HTN 44 (34%), and HF 36 (28%), in both sexes. 85 women (65%) and 45 men (35%).In January, the distribution of cardiovascular disease was as follows: 42.35% of females had IHD, 33.29% had HTN, and 22.35% had HF. 31.11% of men have IHD, 37.78% have HF, and 31.11% have HTN. In July, the number of female patients was 38(4.75%) and male was 27(3.37%), respectively.  The mean age of patients in July in females was 56.93 and in males was 63.64 years. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease in female patients presented in July was as following: HTN=26.32%, IHD=23.68%, and HF=21.05%, and in male patients the prevalence of HF, HTN and IHD was13.16%, 10.53% and 5.25%, respectively. Given the global conversation around climate change, we aimed to assess the correlation between variations in temperatures and the prevalence of cardiovascular illnesses. Based to our research, the prevalence of cardiovascular disorders, such as ischemia, heart failure, and hypertension, is higher in the colder month of January and lower in the warmer month of July in Nangarhar. According to our research, patients should be kept warm and dressed in warm clothing all over the cold season in order to prevent cardiac diseases. Cold weather should also be taken care of in homes and hospital. It seems that cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, and cardiac ischemia are positively correlated with low temperatures. As there is no correlation between high body temperature and cardiovascular conditions such hypertension, myocardial ischemia, or cardiac insufficiency. Therefore, during the winter season, patients should be kept warm and dressed especially women warmly to prevent cardiac disorders. In addition, homes and hospitals should take precautions to keep their residents comfortable during the cold.