Climate change has evolved from an environmental issue into a major public health crisis that directly threatens human health, a Turkish cardiologist warned Wednesday, as temperatures continue to rise across Türkiye.
Professor Mehmet Akbulut, a cardiology specialist at Fırat University Hospital, said extreme heat is among the most visible and deadly consequences of climate change.
“Since the 1950s, there has been a significant increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves,” Akbulut said. “Globally, nearly 17.5 million healthy life years are lost each year due to high temperatures alone. Europe, including Türkiye, has become the fastest-warming continent in the world.”
Despite preventive efforts, more than 60,000 people in Europe died in 2022 because of extreme heat, he said, adding that climate change has become a sustained public health crisis.
Akbulut said many of the health problems caused by extreme heat are linked to the cardiovascular system.
“As temperatures rise, there is a clear increase in death and disease rates related to cardiovascular conditions,” he said. “Studies show that every 1-degree Celsius increase above local threshold levels raises cardiovascular deaths by 2.1%. This rate rises to 3.8% for strokes and 3.5% for acute coronary syndromes.”
He said the human body comes under serious physiological stress while trying to cope with heat. In hot weather, blood vessels expand, causing blood to pool in the periphery and forcing the heart to work harder.
“In people with underlying cardiovascular disease, this can disrupt the balance between oxygen supply and demand, triggering serious conditions ranging from acute coronary syndrome to cardiogenic shock,” he said.
Akbulut also warned that insufficient fluid replacement after sweating increases the risk.
“A decrease in intravascular fluid volume increases the burden on the heart and negatively affects many organs, particularly the kidneys. This process may progress to multiple organ damage,” he said.
He added that increased blood viscosity, systemic inflammation and a higher tendency for clotting also raise the risk of thrombotic events.
Hot weather can also alter the effects of medication, Akbulut said. He noted that patients using antiplatelet therapy and beta blockers face a significantly higher risk of nonfatal heart attacks, with the risk rising by up to 75% when the drugs are used together. He said this effect is not limited to older adults and can also be seen in people aged 25 to 59.
Akbulut said the impact of rising temperatures becomes even stronger when combined with air pollution.
“Scientific studies have shown that on days when levels of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide and ozone increase, deaths related to both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases also rise,” he said.
Heat increases ozone formation, intensifying the toxic effects of pollutants, he said. Pollutants, in turn, disrupt the body’s temperature-regulation mechanisms, creating a “double blow” to the heart.
Akbulut said the risks are not distributed equally across society. People with lower socioeconomic status, limited access to health care and poor housing conditions face greater danger.
He said these groups are more exposed to limited green space, higher air pollution and the urban heat island effect, adding that climate change combines with other environmental risks to increase cardiovascular vulnerability.
