The climate change impact on the heart failure patients’ care
pdf

Keywords

climate change
cardiovascular disease
heart failure
patients’ care

How to Cite

RIDCODUBSCHI, E. and SALARU, V. (2023) “The climate change impact on the heart failure patients’ care ”, One Health & Risk Management , p. 30. Available at: https://journal.ohrm.bba.md/index.php/journal-ohrm-bba-md/article/view/610 (Accessed: 1July2025).

Abstract

Introduction. Climate change represents long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns, with various impacts on human health. These changes have contributed to increased rates of death due to heat stroke and non-infectious diseases, including cardiovascular, pulmonary, malnutrition, and contagious diseases. Heart failure (HF) is a condition with heightened vulnerability in the face of climate change, necessitating adjustments in the management of these patients.

Aim. The goal of our review was to analyze the impact of climate change on heart failure patients’ care.

Material and methods. We conducted a straightforward bibliographic study by searching for the keywords “climate change,” “cardiovascular disease,” “heart failure,” and “patients' care” using the search system of the PubMed database. We focused on articles from the last 5 years. As a result, we identified 75 sources of information and examined 15 of them. These sources encompassed all the keywords, allowing us to explore the impact of climate change on heart failure etiology, monitoring, and treatment.

Results. Patients with HF are a group with increased vulnerability in the context of climate change.  Climate change affects heart health through rising air temperatures, increased air pollution, and shifts in dietary patterns. The mechanisms of worsening HF include: increased blood viscosity, surface blood circulation, and sweating, which leads to increased cardiac workload, dehydration, salt depletion, hemoconcentration, and increase risk of thrombosis. In addition, heat stress was suggested to induce the release of interleukins modulating local and systemic acute inflammatory responses that can result in HF by increasing damage to heart tissue and inflammation with increased levels of B-type natriuretic peptide and C - reactive protein, both of which are predictors of HF prognosis and severity. Increased cardiac strain and output, arrhythmias, and peripheral oedema may render HF patients vulnerable to heat-related sudden death and in-hospital mortality. The hemodynamic changes determined by heat stress may be less tolerated in patients with HF, with a poor cardiovascular reserve, especially in case of valvular heart diseases or cardiomyopathies. Chronic exposure to air pollution is similar to traditional risk factors, which can lead to the initiation of oxidative stress, and low-grade inflammation and create harmful biological intermediates. The general principles of care include fluid intake, avoidance of the hottest environments, use of appropriate clothes, and reduced physical activity during hot weather. The care of HF patients can be affected by the modifications in drug absorption, distribution, and elimination, and subsequently, the therapeutic response. Another issue is that some drugs can interfere with normal thermoregulatory function, including changes in cardiac output and sweat rate, peripheral vasodilation, and dehydration. Additional care should include patient education about the prevention and management of climate change-related issues.

Conclusions. Climate changes negatively influence patients with heart failure, which implies changes and adjustments in therapeutic strategies and care.

pdf

|Views: 73| |pdf Downloads: 38|


pdf
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Starting from July 1, 2025, the article processing fee will be 20 EUR (or the equivalent in MDL at the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Moldova). The publication fee for an accepted article will be 150 EUR (or the equivalent in MDL).

Details here:

Processing Fee
A processing fee of 20 EUR (or the equivalent in MDL) will be charged for articles accepted for scientific review by the editorial committee of the One Health and Risk Management journal.
Note: This fee will only be charged if your article has been technically reviewed and accepted.

Publication Fee
Starting from 01.07.2025, a fee of 150 EUR (or the equivalent in MDL) will be charged for articles accepted for publication.
Additionally, authors will bear the cost of English language editing/translation services if the manuscript requires intervention. The fee is 5 EUR (or the equivalent in MDL) per page edited/translated.
The total cost for English editing/translation services will be communicated by the Editorial Board after the manuscript is accepted for publication.

Payment Details:
Payments should be made in MDL to the bank account opened in the name of the Biosafety and Biosecurity Association of the Republic of Moldova.
The invoice will be issued by the end of the month in which the payment was made.

Organization: Biosafety and Biosecurity Association of the Republic of Moldova
Address: 5C A. Cozmescu Street
Fiscal Code: 1017620004120
Bank Code (SWIFT): AGRNMD2X451
IBAN: MD34AG000000022513622370