Impact of climate and air pollution on acute coronary syndromes: an update from the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2017

During the recent European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2017 several papers reported data on air pollution and ambient temperature in relation to myocardial infarction (MI). Environmental stressors have an unquestionable influence on cardiac health. In fact, global climate change may lead to a variety of negative effects on health, including increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. If greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes with a high degree of certainty that, in most places, there will be more hot and fewer cold temperature extremes [1 Collins M, Knutti R, Arblaster J, For the IPCC: long-term climate change: projections, commitments and irreversibility. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner G-K, et al., editors. Climate Change Report 2013. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 2013. Available from: http://www.climatechange2013.org/ [Google Scholar] ]. Accordingly, it is expected that within a few decades the increase in heat related mortality will outweigh gains due to fewer cold periods [2 Forzieri G, Cescatti A, Batista e Silva F, et al. Increasing risk over time of weather-related hazards to the European population: a data-driven prognostic study. Lancet Planet Health. 2017;1:e200e208. [Crossref], , [Google Scholar] ], especially in tropical developing countries with limited adaptive capacities and large exposed populations [3 Smith KR, Woodward A, Campbell-Lendrum D, et al. Human health: impacts, adaptation, and co-benefits. In: Field CB, Barros VR, Dokken DJ, et al., editors. Climate Change 2014: impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part a: global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 2014. p. 709754. [Google Scholar] ].