This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Increase in adverse CV events following Japan earthquake and tsunami
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
MUNICH — Following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, researchers for a new study reported sharp increases in the occurrences of HF, acute coronary syndromes, stroke, cardiopulmonary arrest and pneumonia shortly after the disaster.
Aftershocks in east Japan were frequent for 6 weeks after the earthquake; the largest was a 7.0-magnitude aftershock on April 7, 2011. Compared with ambulance records from the previous 3 years, the significant increase in reports of HF and pneumonia were steadily prolonged for more than 6 weeks after the disaster. Incident increases in stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest followed the pattern of the first and aftershock seismic peaks. Rapid increases in the occurrences of ACS and cardiopulmonary arrest were followed by a sharp and significant decline, according to a press release.
Age, sex or residence area did not significantly affect the occurrences of CVD during or after the earthquake and tsunami, researcher Hiroaki Shimokawa, MD, PhD, said at a press conference.
The data come from an analysis of ambulance records in the Miyagi prefecture, close to the earthquake epicenter. The researchers studied more than 124,000 records from Feb. 11 to June 30 in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Incidence records from before, during and after the earthquake were compared, the aftershocks counted and recorded according to a seismic intensity of 1 or greater, according to the release.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to describe the mid-term course of major CV events and pneumonia after a great earthquake in a large population,” Shimokawa, from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan, stated in the release.
In other results, BP was significantly elevated after the earthquake, based on self-monitoring measurements, as was the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with implantable cardiac defibrillators. Transport disruption following the tsunami interrupted delivery of regular medications, including antihypertensive or antithrombotic drugs. According to the researchers, taken together, all of these factors may have been involved in the increased occurrence of CV events following this natural disaster. – by Katie Kalvaitis
For more information:
Shimokawa H. Hot line III: Late breaking trials on arrhythmias and CAD. Presented at: the European Society of Cardiology Congress; Aug. 25-28, 2012; Munich.
Aoki T. Eur Heart J. 2012;doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehs288.
Disclosure: Dr. Shimokawa reports no relevant financial disclosures.