Medication

Heat-related Myocardial Infarction May be Associated With Cardiovascular Medications

08/08/2022

People that take antiplatelet and beta-response blocker medications to reduce the risk of a myocardial infarction (MI) may be at an increased risk during hot-weather events, according to a new study.1

The research was conducted using data from a registry of MI cases that took place in Augsburg, Germany from 2001 to 2014 during the region's warm season (May to September). A total of 2495 cases of acute MI were used in the study.

For data analysis, the heat exposure on days when a patient had a MI was compared with non-MI days during that same month, which acted as the control. The authors found that the chances of a heat-related non-fatal MI were increased by 63% among users of anti-platelet medication and increased by 75% for users of beta-receptor blockers. For non-users, the risk was lower and a MI was less likely to occur.

The authors noted that the chance of a MI was increased among patients aged 25 to 59 years who had a lower prevalence of pre-existing coronary heart disease (CHD) than patients aged 60 to 70 years who had a higher prevalence of CHD.

"We hypothesize that some of the medications may make it hard to regulate body temperature,” lead author Kai Chen said in a press release.2

While looking at the data, the authors found that most other types of heart medications did not show a connection to heat-related MIs when compared with these two medications. The only exception was statins.

“Further research is needed to disentangle effect modification by medication use from effect modification by pre-existing CHD,” the authors concluded.

 

—Jessica Ganga

References:

  1. Chen K, Dubrow R, Breitner S, et al. Triggering of myocardial infarction by heat exposure is modified by medication intake. Nat Cardiovasc Res. Published online August 1, 2022. doi:10.1038/s44161-022-00102-z.
  2. Two heart medications tied to greater heart attack risk during very hot weather. News release. Yale School of Public Health; August 1, 2022. Accessed August 8, 2022. ysph.yale.edu/news-article/two-heart-medications-tied-to-greater-heart-attack-risk-during-very-hot-weather/