Beyond major earthquakes: cardiovascular health impact of Low-magnitude seismic activity and the need for preventive strategies
Abstract
Natural disasters are traditionally associated with mass trauma and acute injuries; however, non-communicable diseases account for the majority of premature mortality worldwide, with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) alone responsible for an estimated 17.9 million deaths annually and approximately one third of all global deaths. Within disaster medicine, CVDs constitute a substantial yet often underrecognized component of disaster-related morbidity and mortality. While the cardiovascular consequences of major earthquakes have been relatively well described—including a documented several-fold rise in sudden cardiac death and acute coronary syndromes in the hours to weeks after the event—far less attention has been paid to the health impact of low-magnitud e, recurrent seismic activity. Emerging observational and ecological data suggest that even minor seismic events, when occurring frequently, are associated with measurable increases in cardiovascular hospitalizations and may act as chronic disaster-related stressors capable of destabilizing cardiovascular health, particularly in patients with established CVD and in older adults. This Mini Review examines the cardiovascular implications of low-magnitude seismic activity from a disaster medicine perspective. We summarize current knowledge on seismic exposure in chronically active regions, patterns of cardiovascular healthcare utilization during periods without major earthquakes, and the biological and psychosocial mechanisms…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Current state and future directions for deep learning based automatic seismic fault interpretation: A systematic review
- Physics of Partially Saturated Porous Media: Residual Saturation and Seismic-Wave Propagation
- Modern Imaging Using Seismic Reflection Data
- Effects of marine seismic surveys on free-ranging fauna: a systematic literature review
- A review of the recent seismic activity in the southern part of egypt (upper egypt)
- A review of research on mechanism of seismic attenuation and energy compensation
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.