Sharp temperature changes turned out to be the most noticeable weather factor associated with an increase in heart attacks. This conclusion was reached by researchers after analyzing patient data and meteorological observations.
Researchers studied information on 11,527 cases of heart attacks recorded over a ten-year period at a cardiology center in Beijing. This data was compared with daily weather parameters for the same period.
The analysis showed that days with a higher number of heart attacks often coincided with certain weather conditions. During these periods, lower air temperatures, noticeable temperature fluctuations, light winds, as well as reduced humidity and precipitation levels were typically observed.
To determine which specific weather characteristics were more strongly associated with the increase in heart attacks, the researchers applied a Random Forest machine learning model. The results of the analysis indicated that among the studied factors, temperature fluctuations had the most pronounced impact.
The authors of the study believe that such models can be used to predict periods when the load on cardiology services may increase. In the future, the researchers plan to improve the accuracy of such forecasts by adding data on patients' ages, their diseases, and other characteristics to the analysis.
