Kahtan Fadah, MD

DocwireNews

The following article was written by Dr. Kahtan Fadah as a CardioNerds Conference Scholar for <a href="https://www.aspconline.org/">The American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) 2022 Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention</a>.It is estimated that 62% of pollution-related mortality is due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) (1). Sadly, CVD is even higher in minority populations or those of low socioeconomic origins, as reported in several studies (2). Currently, the worldwide healthcare community is contributing to approximately 4.4% of Global Green House Gases (GHG), according to the UN Intergovernmental Report &ldquo;Climate Change 2021&rdquo;. This contribution is even higher in the United States at 8.5%. Due to this imminent danger, Dr. Martha Gulati, the President of ASPC and Professor of Medicine, Director of CVD Prevention, and Associate Director of the Barbra Streisand Women&rsquo;s Heart Center at Cedars Sinai Heart Institute called us all to arms at the 2022 Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: &ldquo;Whenever there has been a global crisis, people in medicine have stood up and try to get the resources to address it. There is no greater example recently than COVID-19 pandemic, but climate change is a here now problem and it is affecting global health at scale we are underestimating. &hellip;For a preventive cardiologist I feel we can be silent no more. We need to be addressing the climate&rdquo;.Unfortunately, a few days before our arrival to ASPC 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky, the state was flooded with heavy rainfall that tragically ended the lives of 37 individuals; this number is expected to grow. This year, the USA has witnessed extreme heat while the rest of the world is witnessing unpredictable disasters from heavy rains, floods, and wildfires to dust storms. The rapid escalation of these natural disasters in recent times mandates our attention to the root cause as time for meaningful change may be running out. In the words of former US President Barak Obama: &ldquo;We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.&rdquo;Climate change not only increases global temperatures thereby disrupting the thermal physiological homeostasis, but it also ignites air pollution with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and destroys the healthcare infrastructure. Recently, CVD death has been associated with PM2.5 (2). On an individual level, these changes damage the cardiovascular system via though multiple pathways including inflammation, hypercoagulability, and electrolyte imbalances. The population-level results on overall health may be catastrophic.We need to halt the progress of these disastrous events. Dr. Gulati noted that the Preventive Cardiology Community is committed to continue its effort to reduce carbon emissions through contributing to a healthy, and sustainable food system, advocating for 100% clean energy and improving the health system effectiveness. Dr. GulatiIn essence, climate change is disrupting the delicate homeostasis which fuels our little blue planet. The growing impact on both extreme weather and cardiovascular health are evident. Without deliberate and concerted interventions, the outlook appears grim. Echoing the sentiments at ASPC 2022, it is our duty as healthcare workers to be active members in addressing climate change. The time to act is now.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateChange?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimateChange</a> Dr.<a href="https://twitter.com/DrMarthaGulati?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrMarthaGulati</a> discusses our role in preventing further <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GlobalWarming?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GlobalWarming</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASPC2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ASPC2022</a>
 "WE ARE THE FIRST GENERATION TO FEEL THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE LAST GENERATION THAT CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT." <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BarackObama</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DeveshRaiMD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeveshRaiMD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrAlaaDiab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrAlaaDiab</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CardioNerds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CardioNerds</a> <a href="https://t.co/kCedT3u0pd">pic.twitter.com/kCedT3u0pd</a>
&mdash; Kahtan Fadah (@KahtanAlfadhl) <a href="https://twitter.com/KahtanAlfadhl/status/1553776365807304705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2022</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GlobalWarming?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GlobalWarming</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateChange?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimateChange</a>
Will the health community fight to save our &#127754;&#127965;&#65039;&#127758; as we got together with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ASPC2022?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ASPC2022</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CardioNerds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CardioNerds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMarthaGulati?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrMarthaGulati</a> <a href="https://t.co/JXtonjZSFZ">pic.twitter.com/JXtonjZSFZ</a>
&mdash; Kahtan Fadah (@KahtanAlfadhl) <a href="https://twitter.com/KahtanAlfadhl/status/1553772426898669569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2022</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Reference:<ol>
<li>Rajagopalan S, Landrigan PJ. Pollution and the Heart. N Engl J Med. 2021 Nov 11;385(20):1881-1892. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra2030281. PMID: 34758254.</li>
<li>Bevan GH, Freedman DA, Lee EK, Rajagopalan S, Al-Kindi SG. Association between ambient air pollution and county-level cardiovascular mortality in the United States by social deprivation index. Am Heart J. 2021 May;235:125-131. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2021.02.005. Epub 2021 Feb 13. PMID: 33592167.</li>
</ol>

MarkAlain Déry, DO

The Significant Danger Measles Pose for Unvaccinated Children

Infectious Disease

Andrew Moreno

Antithrombotic Care in Hemophilia: A Summary of Multi-Organizational Clinical Practice Guidance

Hemophilia

James Tumlin, MD

Joel M. Topf, MD, FACP

Proteinuria Remission With Sparsentan in FSGS

NKF Spring Clinical Meetings 2025

Latest News

Climate Change is Threating our Global Cardiovascular Health: A Call to Arms

Cardionerds is an entertaining and educational medical cardiology podcast created by three cardiologists. They want to bring high yield cardiovascular concepts in a fun and engaging format for their listeners of all levels. Click below to learn more!

CardioNerds

The following article was written by Dr. Kahtan Fadah as a CardioNerds Conference Scholar for The American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) 2022 Congress on ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Advertising

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Contribute

Career Center

MashupMD

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

GU Oncology Now

Urban Health Today

Bile Duct Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Gastroesophageal Cancer

Gastric Cancer

GEP-NETs

GIST

Liver Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

GI Oncology Now

Anemia

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Essential Thrombocythemia

Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

Myelofibrosis

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Polycythemia Vera

Pulmonary Embolism

Sickle Cell Disease

Thrombocytopenia

Thrombophilia

Thrombosis

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Venous Thromboembolism

von Willebrand Disease

Heme Today

Acute Kidney Injury

ADPKD

Anemia and Kidney Disease

Chronic Kidney Disease

COVID-19 and Kidney Disease

Diabetes and Hypertension

End-Stage Renal Disease

Gout

Hyperkalemia

IgAN

Kidney Transplantation

Metabolic Acidosis

Nephrology Times

HER2 Breast Cancer

HR Breast Cancer

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Genetics & Breast Cancer

Breast Cancers Today

Atherosclerotic Disease

Atrial Fibrillation

Heart Failure

Hypertension

Interventional Cardiology

Lipid Management

Practice Tips With Dr. Lichaa

Preventive Cardiology

Stroke

Cardiology

Breast Cancer

Gynecologic Cancer

Head and Neck Cancer

Skin Cancer

Oncology

Sleep

Urology

Diabetes

Ophthalmology

— Demodex Blepharitis

Neurology

Rheumatology

Gastroenterology

Pulmonology

Infectious Diseases

— HIV

Health and Wellness

Lupus

Future of Medicine

Orthopedics

Pharmacology

Career News

More

Conferences

The Sleep Source With Dr. Morse

Rheumatology Rounds With Dr. Maheswaranathan

Partners

Expert Interviews

Subscribe