Uncorrected Proof
Shiraz E-Med J. In Press(In Press):e107895.
Published online 2021 May 16.
doi: 10.5812/semj.107895.
Review Article
The Impact of Climate Change on Heart Failure: A Narrative Review
Study
Sasha Kakaei
1
, Masoumeh Zakerimoghadam
2
, Mehrzad Rahmanian
3
and Zahra Abbasi
Dolatabadi
1, *
1
Department of Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Medical-Surgical Care Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3
Department of Cardio Vascular Surgical, Complex of Imam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
*
Corresponding author: Department of Critical Care Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Email:
zahra_abasi2000@yahoo.com
Received 2020 July 26; Revised 2021 January 18; Accepted 2021 January 24.
Abstract
Context: Climate change as a global threat has affected all aspects of society, including health. This study aimed to identify the role
of climate change factors on cardiovascular diseases.
Evidence Acquisition: The current narrative review study searched the databases including EMBASE, PubMed, Science Direct, Ovid,
Cochrane Library, Magiran, and SID using Persian and English keywords such as ‘climate change’, ‘cold wave’, ‘heat wave’, ‘tempera-
ture decrease’, ‘temperature rise’, ‘heart disease’, ‘heart attack’, and ‘heart failure’ from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2019.
Results: Previous studies have shown that physical factors affect health and contribute to conditions such as cardiovascular disease
and even death. Additionally, a relationship can be found between temperature decrease and heart diseases in the literature, while
recent studies have shown that temperature rise is directly related to heart diseases.
Conclusions: Due to increased greenhouse gas emissions and the increase in temperature, the world is witnessing a massive cli-
mate change. Considering the increase in the incidence and mortality rates due to heart diseases and the role of climate change in
this increase, health policymakers need to focus on setting guidelines for reducing the complications of these diseases in high-risk
groups based on the relevant studies.
Keywords: Climate Change, Cardiovascular Disease, Heart Failure, Global Warming, Disasters
1. Context
Climate change refers to any lasting change in the
Earth’s climate over a period of time (1, 2). Global warm-
ing is a type of climate change in which the average tem-
perature in the lower layers of the Earth’s atmosphere is
increased due to factors such as greenhouse gas emissions
and air pollution (3-6). Estimates indicate that the annual
average temperature and frequency of the heat wave are in-
creasing. Climate change and increased global warming,
in addition to economic and social impacts, have become
a potential threat to human health (1, 7-11). According to a
report by the center for research on the epidemiology of
disasters (CRED), 44% of the 147 events recorded in the first
quarter of 2017 were due to climate change. Environmen-
tal and climate changes have direct and indirect effects on
health, human well-being, and the mortality pattern of in-
fectious and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (12-15).
Climate change has caused an increasing number of
people with health problems, such as the elderly, children,
and patients, to be at risk (16-19). Climate change has
contributed to death due to heat-stroke, non-infectious
diseases such as cardiovascular, pulmonary, malnutrition,
and contagious diseases (4, 11, 20, 21). However, the slow-
ing down of cold winters, hence fewer cold season illnesses
such as respiratory diseases, and the increase in agricul-
tural production are among the positive effects of climate
change (22). On the other hand, the increase in air tem-
perature during the recent years has predisposed some
patients with non-respiratory diseases such as cardiovas-
cular disease to temperature change complications more
than other people in the community (23, 24). Various stud-
ies have reported a correlation between air temperature
changes (decrease or increase) and compromising heart
health (11, 14, 17, 19, 21, 25-27).
For example, in patients with heart failure, the increase
in temperature increases the incidence of disabling com-
plications (25, 28). To achieve full health in these individ-
Copyright © 2021, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly
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