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

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 comparing cardiovascular hospitalization rates with climatic data across the Brazilian states. This study aimed to describe and relate the hospitalization counts of cardiovascular events, including acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure, to climatic data. Data were obtained from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System and the National Meteorology Institute from 2010 to 2024. We recorded a total of 2,917,900 hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases across 103 cities in Brazil where complete climatic data were available. The hospitalization rates per 100,000 inhabitants ranged from 0.007 in the state of Maranhão to 0.023 in Rio Grande do Sul. We observed a lower relative risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases in regions with a higher ambient temperature, with the temperature range up to 19°C having the highest risk. No difference in hospitalization risk was observed between the 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.