1Meenakshi College of Allied Health Sciences, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research
2Department of Oral Pathology, Meenakshi Ammal Dental College and Hospital, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research
3Central Research Laboratory, Meenakshi Medical College Hospital & Research Institute, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research
4Meenakshi College of Pharmacy, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research
5Meenakshi College of Nursing, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research
6Arulmigu Meenakshi College of Nursing, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research
Aim: To explore the effect of short-term climate variation, especially hot and cold temperature spells on mortality of patients with chronic heart failure.
Background: Patients of heart failure (HF) suffer from poor temperature regulation processes and circulatory, which makes them quite vulnerable to temperature changes. Due to the recent rise in the frequency of heatwaves and cold spikes that accompany climate change, it has become a pressing public-health issue to study its health effects on vulnerable cardiac groups. Although interests may be increasing, there is still an uncertain result depending on the location and climate.
Methods: We were moderately successful in gaining access to a multicentered retrospective cohort study consisting of 21,600 adults clinically diagnosed with HF in 201123 in temperate, arid, and continental climates. Raw information of meteorological data (temperature, humidity and heat indexes) per day was combined with geocoded patient data. Hot spells (>= 95th percentile) and cold spells (<= 5th percentile) with any duration of 48 hours or longer were based on region-specific thresholds. Distributed lag non-linear models measured the relationships between temperature extremes and 7 and 30-day mortality with demographic, clinical and environmental confounders.
Results: Hot spells were evaluated in connection with 15 percent and 12 percent transmission of 7-day mortality and 30-day mortality respectively. Even more notable effects were demonstrated during cold spells, as mortality had risen by 24% and 20% after 7 and 30 days respectively. They were most vulnerable with older individuals, low ejection fraction and socially disadvantaged patients.
Conclusion: Climate variability has a significant impact of increasing short-term mortality among HF patients. The findings help demonstrate the criticality of climate-adaptation interventions, climate-specific early-warning mechanisms and patient-focused risk alleviation measures.
Keywords: climate variance, cold wave, extremes of temperature, hot wave, heart failure, risk of death, distributed lag models.
How to cite this article: Sangeetha S, Biswas PG, Arumugam S, Rajasekhar KK, Cathrine TR, Vasanthapriya J. Assessing the Effects of (Hot/Cold Spells) of Climate on Mortality Among the Heart Failure Patients. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(10s): 102-107; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.10s.14
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None