Why Extreme Weather is Like a Heart Attack

Published: November 2nd, 2011

Quitting smoking or losing weight or eating more vegetables won't guarantee you won't get a heart attack: they happen even to people with no obvious risk factors. But the more risk factors you have, the more you're at risk.

Yes, I know it's obvious. That's the point. It should also be obvious that climate change is like adding an extra risk factor that boosts the danger of extreme events like torrential rains, heat waves and droughts. But we in the climate communications business have failed to get that thought into people's heads.

I've just published an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times that tries to remedy that by talking about the floods in Thailand (and other climate events) in the language of medical emergencies. Here's how it begins:

An obese, middle-aged man is running to catch a bus. Suddenly, he clutches his chest, falls to the ground and dies of a massive heart attack....

You can read the rest on the Times website.

You can also read a commentary about it on the the Collide-a-Scape blog run by journalist Keith Kloor.

If the public totally gets climate change by the end of this week, I plan to claim full credit.

Posted in Basics, Climate, Extremes, Weather, Extreme Weather, Society, Global, Extreme Planet

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Comments

By Rich (Aurora, IL, 60505)
on November 19th, 2011

I am thinking that as weather changes from warm to cold and your blood begin to thicken as a result of this change, a person may be more suceptible to heart attacks. If the vessels are already restricked the thicker blood being more difficult to move through the heart and blood vessels would trigger the heart attack.

Is this possible?

By Mihail (606034)
on February 22nd, 2012

Yes, it’s possible, as like the changes of weather from cold to warm.

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Andrew Freedman

Andrew Freedman is a senior science writer for Climate Central, focusing on coverage of extreme weather and climate change. Prior to working with Climate Central, Freedman was a reporter for C...