Study says solar storms increase deaths from heart problems

Scientists led by a Brazilian from Harvard University in the United States analyzed the increased risk of cardiovascular events. – read about heart attacks and strokes – During intense solar and geomagnetic activity caused by solar storms.

The analysis showed that the phenomenon, occurring in a roughly 11-year cycle, could cause up to 5,500 deaths per year in the United States alone.

Solar storms are explosions of charged particles and magnetized plasma during periods of high activity in our host star. Sun, which is also a huge natural thermonuclear reactorIt converts hydrogen atoms into helium to produce temperatures of millions of degrees and strong magnetic fields that can disrupt Earth’s magnetic field.

In addition to the effects on terrestrial power grids and even falls from orbiting satellites, these “storms” can also disrupt normal circadian rhythms known as biological clocks, lead researcher Carolina Zilli Vieira of the study tells New Scientist magazine.

The Brazilian explains that these mechanisms, which regulate our bodies between day and night, play a fundamental role in structuring our heart rate.

Linking heart problems to solar storms

To prove their hypothesis, the Harvard team analyzed records of deaths in 263 U.S. cities between 1985 and 2013. They then compared heart-related deaths with solar storm data. They found that more deaths from heart disease occurred on days when solar storms interfered with our magnetosphere.

To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, the researchers also analyzed the electrocardiograms of 809 elderly US men, who will be analyzed long-term. they came to the conclusion men are more likely to experience changes in their lower heart rateIt’s a sign that their hearts have been strained when solar storms have interfered with Earth’s magnetic field in the past 24 hours.

As predicted by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center A solar maximum is occurring in 2025The team is racing against time to understand how this solar activity affects people’s hearts. The goal is to protect them preventively. “We hope to develop some mitigation measures in the future,” concludes Zilli Vieira.

ARTICLE Total Environmental Science – DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156235.