Association between climatic variables and cardiovascular hospitalizations in Brazil: An ecological study

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and external factors such as ambient temperature can predispose to cardiovascular events. Brazil, a country with continental dimensions and diverse climates, lacks a recent study of all Brazilian states comparing cardiovascular hospitalization incidence with climatic data. This data is of paramount importance as it has the potential to promote cardiovascular prevention measures and optimize public spending. The objective of this study was to describe the incidence of cardiovascular events according to the ICD-10 classification, including acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure, and relate the incidence of these diseases to climatic data.Methods: Data were obtained from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS) and the National Meteorology Institute (INMET) from 2010 to 2024.Findings: We recorded a total of 2,917,900 hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases in Brazil in the 103 cities where complete climatic data were available. All state capitals were included in the study. The incidence per 100,000 inhabitants ranged from 0.007 in the state of Maranhão to 0.023 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.Interpretation: In Brazil, we observed a lower relative risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular reasons when the ambient temperature was higher, with the temperature range up to 19 °C having the highest risk. There was no difference between temperate and tropical climate regions. This study highlights the importance of public measures for cardiovascular event prevention during periods of lower temperature throughout the year.