Risk of fatal heart attack may double in extreme heat with air pollution, study finds

Soaring heat and fine particulate matter in the air may double your risk of heart attack death, according to a new study.

For the study, published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation on Monday, researchers analyzed more than 200,000 heart attack deaths between 2015 and 2020 in a Chinese province that experiences four distinct seasons and a range of temperatures and pollution levels. 

The findings? Days of extreme heat, extreme cold or high levels of fine particulate matter air pollution were all "significantly associated" with the risk of death from a heart attack — and the greatest risk was seen on days with a combination of both extreme heat and high air pollution levels. Results showed women and older adults were particularly at risk.