Climate change , the impact of which is now being felt worldwide, has begun to affect human health in a big way with extreme heat events being linked to an increase in cardio-vascular diseases, an eminent expert said here at a programme.
“Extreme heat stress puts an additional strain on the heart, especially for individuals with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and heart disease,” Dr. Debi Prasad Tripathy, Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Canada, said.
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Quoting a 2019 study published in the Environmental Health Perspectives, Dr. Tripathy said it indicated that heat waves increased the incidence of heart attacks and cardiac arrests, particularly among the older adults. “People over the age of 65 years are 3.5 times more likely to experience heat related cardiovascular events,” he said.
Dr. Tripathy was speaking as the keynote speaker at a program held to commemorate the memory of late Prof. Manas Ranjan Das, former head of the department of Civil Engineering at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) run by SOA Deemed to be University.
Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, chaired the session which was also addressed by Mr. Soumendra K. Priyadarshi, Additional Director General of Police, Odisha, and Dr. Nihar Ranjan Sahoo, Chief Environmental Engineer of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).
The event was jointly organised by ITER, SOA, and the Science for Common People Society (SCOPES) with the Bhubaneswar Chapter of Indian Meteorological Society (IMS) and SNM Group as partners.
Reeling out extensive data, Dr. Tripathy, who spoke on the subject ‘Human Health in Conjunction with Environment and Climate’ said a 2018 study made by American Heart Association (AHA) revealed that in Europe heat waves increased cardio-vascular deaths by 6 to 9 per cent per year, particularly in southern Europe where the temperature soared above 40 degrees C.
The AHA study had found that heat waves and increased temperatures were linked to a higher frequency of hospital admissions for cardio vascular events, he said.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report of 2021 said over 166,000 deaths were attributed to heat waves annually while the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had estimated that heat related mortality could increase by 250,000 people per year by 2050, he said.
Explaining the link between heat wave and heart attack, Dr. Tripathy said excessive heat increased the strain on the circulatory system as the body tried to maintain internal temperature thus raising the risk of cardio vascular deaths.
Extreme heat and humidity could worsen diabetic symptoms by increasing the risk of dehydration, blood sugar fluctuation and difficulty in managing insulin levels, Dr. Tripathy said adding the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) had estimated that over 400 million people globally were living with diabetes as of 2019 and climate change could push this number up to 50 per cent by 2030.
Rising temperatures also altered vector ecology leading to expansion of Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya zones while flooding increased water-borne disease outbreaks. Higher temperature accelerates the development of mosquitoes and the pathogen incubation period.
The 2018 Kerala and 2019 Uttarakhand floods had seen a marked increase in Dengue and Malaria cases, Dr. Tripathy said.
He said countries in southern Europe like Italy, Spain, and Greece had already witnessed an increase in Dengue and Zika outbreaks. “Mosquitoes have been found for the first time in Iceland while Antarctica remains the lone place on earth where the insect has not reached yet,” he said.
Mr. Priyadarshi, a childhood friend of late Prof. Das, reminisced about past memories while describing him as a wonderful human being. He said his passing away was a huge loss to the academic world.
Referring to the issue of climate change, Mr. Priyadarshi said the need for the present generation was to ensure that “we leave the world as a better place for our children.” Dr. Sahu presented a talk on the air quality of Odisha.
Prof. Uma Charan Mohanty, eminent environmental scientist and President of SCOPES, Mr. Nihar Ranjan Das, it’s Secretary and Prof. Satya Ranjan Das of ITER, also addressed the gathering. Prof. Manas Kumar Mallick, Director, ITER, Prof. Manjula Das, Controller of Examination, Prof. Pradip Kumar Sahu, Dean of ITER, senior faculty members and students were present. Dr. Ajay Mahakud of SCOPES proposed the vote of thanks.
