Heart attacks increased after Los Angeles wildfires, study finds | US news
In the first 90 days after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, which destroyed entire Los Angeles neighborhoods, Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles experienced a 46% increase in emergency room visits for heart attack symptoms. newly published study.
D., director of public health research at Cedars-Sinai and senior author of the study. “Heart attack rates in January 2025 actually surpassed heart attack rates in all previous Januarys, even Covid years,” Susan Cheng told the Guardian.
Those living in postcodes directly affected by January’s bushfires or located near a fire-affected area also reported a 24% increase in lung disease and a staggering 218% increase in blood test abnormalities.
Palisades fire most destructive fire In the history of Los Angeles, 6,800 structures were destroyed and 12 people were killed. To the east, the Eaton fire devastated the Altadena neighborhood, with 19 people confirmed dead. more than that 9,400 structures Altadena and neighboring Pasadena and Sierra Madre were also destroyed.
The findings, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a research project On the short and long-term effects of fires on human health.
Cedars-Sinai medical center is located about 10 and 20 miles from the epicenters of the Palisades and Eaton fires, respectively.
“What we saw during the wildfires was extreme respiratory illness in our emergency department that matched the worst years of Covid,” Cheng said. “And it was striking.”
While some increase in respiratory illnesses was expected due to the effects of wildfire smoke, Cheng said he was surprised not only by the percentage increase, but also by the jump in heart attack cases and blood test abnormalities.
“The large number of people exposed to the wildfire in January resulted in biochemical or metabolic stress in the body, and this stress likely affected not just one but multiple organ systems,” he said.
The blood test data came from patients who reported physical symptoms without a clear diagnosis, such as dizziness without clear signs of dehydration or chest pains without other signs of a heart attack. Cheng noted that patients’ blood tests revealed mild abnormalities.
“Blood tests may show that electrolytes are slightly off, such as sodium, potassium, or there is a slight imbalance in protein levels,” he said. “Or there is a slight change in kidney and liver function markers.”
The Palisades and Eaton fires were particularly harmful to human health because they were classified as “wildland-urban interface fire (WUI).” These types of fires spread more easily than pure wildfire or purely urban fires and burn a combination of organic materials and industrial fuels such as plastic, batteries, and electronics.
While the data Chang and his colleagues collected are a start, there are still many questions to be answered about the long-term effects of January’s fires on human health. “There’s a lot of work to be done,” he said. “We are still working hard to put the pieces together.”
