Recent research from Helmholtz Munich and the Augsburg University Hospital has demonstrated that nighttime heat can greatly raise the risk of stroke. These findings could help in the creation of preventative measures, allowing the population to better protect themselves from the increasing frequency of hot nights due to climate change. Additionally, understanding the consequences of hot nights could lead to improvements in patient care.ulation can better protect themselves against the risks of climate change with increasingly frequent hot nights. In addition, knowledge of the consequences of hot nights can improve patient care.
Climate change is leading to more and more extreme weather events, such as extremely hot tropical nights. The impact of night-time heat on the risk of stroke was investigated by Dr. Alexandra Schneider and her research team. The head of the Environmental Risks group at Helmholtz Munich, Dr. Schneider, stated, “We aimed to comprehend the extent to which high night-time temperatures present a health risk.” This is imp rnrn
Data on 11,000 strokes from 15 years
Researchers at Augsburg University Hospital conducted a study using data from around 11,000 strokes over a 15-year period. The analysis revealed that a rise in night-time temperatures increases the risk of stroke by seven percent. Dr. Cheng He, the lead author of the study, noted that elderly people and women are particularly vulnerable to this risk, with clinics diagnosing mainly mild symptom strokes after hot nights. This information is significant due to the increased impact of climate change on night-time temperatures.
It is evident that changes in city planning and the healthcare system are crucial in order to decrease the risks caused by increasing nighttime temperatures. This holds especially true as Professor Michael Ertl, who leads the Stroke Unit and neurovascular working group at Augsburg University Hospital, points out that “we were able to demonstrate that the risk of stroke linked to high nighttime temperatures rose significantly from 2013 to 2020 compared to the period of 2006 to 2012.” During the years 2006 to 2012, hot nights led to an extra two strokes per year in the study area. However, from 2013 to 2020, there were 33 additional cases per year.
Recommendations for urban planning and adaptation strategies
The researchers are focused on making their findings useful in real-world scenarios. In doing so, they are creating recommendations for public adaptation strategies and urban planning, including reducing the impact of urban heat islands. The goal is to improve the protection of the population from the effects of nighttime heat. Additionally, the study will be used as a starting point for future research to create specific preventive measures against factors that increase the risk of stroke. ”The sooner we implement these preventive measures, the better,” says Alexandra Schneider. The study’s findings will provide valuable information for policymakers and urban planners.
HNE, which stands for Hot Night Excess Index, is used to determine “tropical nights” by measuring the increase in nighttime temperatures above a specific threshold. This information is important for hospitals as it can help them anticipate an increase in stroke cases. For example, if the weather forecast indicates a hot night, hospitals can prepare by increasing staffing levels to accommodate the expected surge in patients. Prof. Markus Naumann, Director of the Neurological University Hospital in Augsburg, explains the significance of this data for hospitals’ ability to adapt to the frequency of strokes in the future.The value refers to the temperature that is surpassed only on the five percent warmest nights throughout the study period. In this particular study, the value is 14.6 °C. Any night where temperatures exceed this value is considered a tropical night. The HNE index calculates the number of degrees that temperatures exceed this threshold during the night to assess the severity of the heat.
