Impact of Climate Change on Acute Cardiovascular Events: A Global Health Challenge

Background: Climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing global health threats of the 21st century, exerting wide-reaching effects on human physiology, healthcare systems, and disease distribution. Among its most immediate and life-threatening consequences is the rising incidence of acute cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction, stroke, arrhythmias, and heart failure decompensation. These outcomes are increasingly linked to a combination of environmental stressors such as extreme heat, cold spells, air pollution, wildfires, and rapid shifts in atmospheric pressure. Vulnerable populations—including the elderly, individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, those in low-resource settings, and outdoor laborers—are disproportionately affected. Methods and Results: This review integrates global epidemiological data, mechanistic insights, and health systems analyses to elucidate how climate stressors drive acute cardiovascular risk. Heat waves have been shown to increase all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, particularly in regions unaccustomed to high temperatures or lacking widespread air conditioning. Cold exposure similarly raises blood pressure and thrombotic risk, contributing to ischemic events. Air pollutants such as PM₂.₅, NO₂, and ozone, whose levels are often exacerbated by climate phenomena, induce oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and coagulation abnormalities. Wildfire smoke exposure has been associated with sharp increases in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and emergency visits for arrhythmias and ischemic heart disease. Behavioral and logistical factors—such as delays in emergency care during extreme weather, Climate-sensitive modeling predicts a continued rise in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality under most future warming scenarios, with urban megacities and low-income countries projected to bear the highest burden. Conclusion: Climate change is not only an environmental crisis but a cardiovascular emergency, demanding urgent action from clinicians, public health authorities, and policymakers. Targeted interventions include early warning systems, climate-resilient health infrastructure, heat-health action plans, urban greening, and cross-sector collaboration.