Cold Weather Linked to Higher MI Risk

A Chinese nationwide case-crossover study revealed that lower temperatures were associated with higher risks of myocardial infarction (MI), and that the risk was more pronounced in MI with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) than that of MI with obstructive coronary artery disease (MI-CAD). The study included 83 784 MINOCA patients and 918 730 MI-CAD patients from 2015 to 2021. The risk of MINOCA and MI-CAD associated with low temperature occurred at lag 2 days and lasted to 1 week. Extremely low temperature was associated with a substantially greater odds ratio (OR) of MINOCA (OR 1.58) than MI-CAD (unmatched: OR 1.32; equally matched by age and sex: OR 1.25), compared with the corresponding reference temperatures (30°C, 35°C, and 30°C). Stronger associations were observed for patients who were aged ≥65 years, female, or resided in the south. There was no significant difference in the impacts of high temperature on MINOCA and MI-CAD. The findings are in line with previous findings and broaden the knowledge on the relationship between low-temperature exposure and an elevated incidence of MI. Source: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/