Climate change is amazing! In addition to being responsible for colder temperatures, warmer temperatures, less snowfall, more snowfall, and terrorism, now it seems that it can also cause heart attacks.
Yes, someone really said that.
University of Michigan cardiologist Hedvig Andersson recently stated: “Global warming is expected to cause extreme weather events, which may, in turn, result in large day-to-day fluctuations in temperature. … Our study suggests that such fluctuations in outdoor temperature could potentially lead to an increased number of heart attacks and affect global cardiac health in the future.”
In other words, as we experience more extreme weather, it will put more strain on people’s hearts, thus creating more heart attacks.
Anderson notes that while the body has processes for dealing with fairly extreme weather, it might be too much for our natural systems to deal with. “While the body has effective systems for responding to changes in temperature, it might be that more rapid and extreme fluctuations create more stress on those systems, which could contribute to health problems,” he said.
The truth is that this was an epidemiological study that simply looked at the weather and hospital records and looked for a correlation. As we all know, correlation does not necessarily equal causation. In this case, the greater the temperature swing, the greater the supposed risk for a heart attack.
However, the study can’t account for other factors that may have played a factor, such as the individuals’ lifestyle. The statement acknowledges this fact, though, as many do. “[Dr. Hitinder] Gurm cautioned that the association does not necessarily prove that sudden temperature swings are the cause of the increase in heart attacks; other factors may have contributed to the results. He noted that it remains important to focus on modifiable cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.”
Perhaps more troubling than the heart attack angle is how routinely they are willing to attribute anything to climate change despite the incredibly weak results.
It’s not hard to imagine extreme swings in temperature may put more strain on people’s hearts. But, as Michael Bastach at The Daily Caller notes, “The study predicted twice as many heart attacks on a hot summer day with a 63 to 72 degree Fahrenheit fluctuation than on a day with no temperature swing.”
A nine-degree fluctuation.
This is nonsense, especially since the warnings of more “extreme weather” have failed to occur. And since every climate change model ever developed has failed to accurately predict … well, anything.
This is “science” in the same way that Bill Nye the Science Guy claims to be an actual scientist. It doesn’t confirm anything, but the media still was happy to run with it and scare readers. Relax — just listen to your doctor’s advice, and don’t give this nonsense a second thought.
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