*According to a new study, cardiovascular deaths related to extreme heat could triple over the next few decades, with Black people being the most vulnerable.
According to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, heat-related deaths will increase significantly in the United States among Black adults and seniors age 65 and older.
Here’s more from People:
The study, published Monday in the journal Circulation, analyzed the heat index between May and September of 2008–2019 and found that it rose to at least 90 degrees on about 54 days each summer. Those days of extreme temperatures were linked to a national average of 1,651 cardiovascular deaths each year.
Based on environmental and population changes, researchers expect that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise … This could result in cardiovascular deaths tripling to 5,491 per year.
As People reports, Dr. Sameed A. Khatana — study author, cardiologist, and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN, “For people with pre-existing cardiovascular diseases, their heart might not be able to keep up with the increased demands on the cardiovascular system that temperature is causing.”
Black adults and seniors are allegedly at greater risk of fatal heat strokes due to underlying health conditions and socioeconomic barriers.
Several cities have started using cooling strategies, such as planting shade trees, building air-conditioned cooling centers, and paving streets or painting roofs with heat-reflecting materials.
“The health burdens from extreme heat will continue to grow within the next several decades. Due to the unequal impact of extreme heat on different populations, this is also a matter of health equity and could exacerbate health disparities that already exist,” Khatana said in a press release.
“Solutions need to be targeted at people who are the most vulnerable,” Khatana added. “If mitigation efforts are not taken, if efforts to reduce emissions aren’t made, then these inequities that we’ve already seen might continue to widen.”
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