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Incidence of MI, stroke increased in high-impact areas after Hurricane Sandy
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After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the incidence of MI and stroke increased in New Jersey regions hit hardest by the storm, according to a new report.
Researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School evaluated the incidence of CV events from 2007 to 2012 using the MI Data Acquisition System (MIDAS), a database of records of all patients diagnosed with CVD or who underwent an invasive procedure at a nonfederal hospital in New Jersey. Patients were categorized by their residential county using information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency: high-impact area (41.5% of the New Jersey population) or low-impact area.
The researchers examined the incidence of CV events for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after Oct. 29, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey.
According to the findings, in the eight counties determined to be high-impact regions, the incidence of MI increased by 22% (attributable rate ratio [ARR]=1.22; 95% CI, 1.16-1.28), 30-day mortality from MI increased 31% (ARR=1.31; 95% CI, 1.22-1.41) and stroke increased by 7% (ARR=1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.11). In the 13 counties determined to be low-impact regions, the increase in MI was less than 1%.
The researchers estimated that there were more than 125 cases of MI during the study period compared with the previous years examined, and an additional 69 MI-related deaths in high-impact regions.
The incidence of stroke was unchanged in low-impact regions, and the researchers observed no change in 30-day mortality related to stroke in high- or low-impact regions.
“This is a significant increase over typical non-emergency periods,” Joel N. Swerdel, MS, MPH, an epidemiologist at the Cardiovascular Institute and the Rutgers School of Public Health, said in a press release. “Our hope is that the research may be used by the medical community, particularly emergency medical services, to prepare for the change in volume and severity of health incidents during extreme weather events.”
Disclosure: Swerdel reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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