Effects of Extreme Ambient Temperature on Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Extreme weather or climate, including heat waves and cold waves, is considered a health issue causing adverse effects on health, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), mortality and morbidity. Thus, this systematic review aimed to study the impacts of extreme ambient temperature on cardiovascular outcomes. Material and Methods: This study was carried out based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. Papers about the ambient temperature and cardiovascular outcomes were searched in the scientific database, including ISI, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, from January 1970 up to the end of 2020. We used the key terms, such as “heat wave”, “cold wave”, “extreme event”, “cardiovascular disease”, “mortality”, and “morbidity”. The thematic analysis method was used to determine all themes and analyze the data. Results: Among the 7631 searched and extracted papers, 20 articles met the eligibility criteria for including the process of final analysis. Effects of extreme events included mortality, morbidity, and hospitalization due to CVD. A relationship between extreme events and CVD mortality was confirmed for cerebrovascular diseases, including congestive heart failure (CHF), ischemic heart diseases (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), cardiac arrhythmia, coronary heart disease (CHD), out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), acute coronary syndrome (ACS), and blood pressure. Conclusion: The present study indicated the impact of extreme ambient temperature on CVD outcomes. The findings provided adaptation and preventive measures and strategies which can be used for CVD patients and managers to prevent CVD due to ambient temperature.