Cardio-oncology & other

Compound Exposure to Extreme Heat and Substantial Landscape Fire-Sourced Air Pollution on Cardiovascular Mortality

J Am Coll CardiolPublished Multicountry time-series study

Authors' conclusion

Compound exposure to heat waves and SFAP was associated with higher cardiovascular mortality than single exposures, with stronger additive interaction signals for HF.

Study context

Population
National representative daily cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality data across 6 countries
Participants
5.9 million CVD death records
Comparison
Compound heat wave + SFAP exposure vs single-hazard exposure vs no hazard
Outcome
CVD mortality
Methodological details6 countries, quasi-Poisson regression, additive interaction (RERI, attributable proportion, synergy index)
  • 6 countries
  • quasi-Poisson regression
  • Additive interaction (RERI, attributable proportion, synergy index)

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

CV mortality
Each group vs no hazardRelative risk (95% CI)
Compound exposure11.5% increase
1.115(1.100–1.130)
Heat wave-only
1.083(1.074–1.091)
SFAP-only
1.014(1.008–1.021)
Compound exposure · modest positive additive interaction; 1.598% (95% CI: 0.181%-3.129%) of CV mortality on compound exposure days
RERI 0.018 (95% CI 0.002–0.035)

Further findings

OutcomeRR (95% CI)
HF mortalityCompound exposurevs No hazard1.245 (1.191–1.301)
OutcomeRERI (95% CI)
HF mortalityCompound exposure vs No hazard0.096 (0.040–0.161)
  • Heart failure (HF) mortality: 7.731% (95% CI: 3.293%-12.488%) of HF deaths on compound exposure days attributable to additive interaction

Ischemic heart disease and stroke mortality

Smaller but positive interaction effects

Interaction by country

Interaction magnitude varied across countries; largest in Australia

Sensitivity analyses

Consistent across alternative buffering windows and heat wave definitions; effects attenuated modestly with wider buffers

Original publication

Compound Exposure to Extreme Heat and Substantial Landscape Fire-Sourced Air Pollution on Cardiovascular Mortality. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 29 July 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.06.005

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