Impact of heat stress on cardiovascular health outcomes of older adults: A mini review

Heat waves are increasingly becoming a serious threat to human health, especially for children, adults above 65 years and vulnerable populations. Older adults are already burdened with several chronic illnesses with cardiovascular diseases being the most prevalent and among the leading causes of death in that population. In this review, we explore evidence of the impact of heat stress on cardiovascular health outcomes of older adults. We further attempt to simplify the mechanisms by which aging compromises thermoregulation of individuals above the age of 65 thereby exacerbating cardiovascular diseases. Articles used in this mini review were retrieved from PubMed, Google scholar, Scopus and other academic internet databases relevant to the field of study. The keywords used in the search were ‘heat stress’, ‘cardiovascular diseases in older adults’ ‘heat stress and cardiovascular diseases’ as well as ‘heat stress and aging’. The publications included in this mini review have been carefully chosen based on their relevance, reliability, and contribution to advancing our understanding of the topic. This review reveals that heat stress in older adults may lead to increased hospitalization and death in some cases. There is a dearth of studies focusing on this area in developing countries. Therefore, this review can stimulate research interest for under studied regions or countries on the subject area considering that heat stress is a growing concern as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Understanding the role of heat stress in cardiovascular diseases can help health care workers and policy makers to plan for mitigation strategies to avoid the risk of hospitalization and/or death during heat waves among older adults.