The Effect of Solar-Geomagnetic Activity During Hospital Admission on the Prognosis of Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Myocardial Infarction

Aims: Some evidence has been reported on the increase in the rate of myocardial infarction, stroke and change in number cardiovascular parameters during geomagnetic storms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of in-hospital lethal or major adverse cardiovascular events (myocardial infarction, stroke, and death) (MACE) in patients with myocardial infarction, depending on the patients’ clinical data and the heliophysical environment during hospital admission and on the first subsequent days.
Place and Duration of Study: The study included 1,579 patients who in 2005-2006 were treated in the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and survived for more than one day. During hospitalization, 35 (2.2%) cases of death and 60 (3.8%) cases of MACE were registered.
Methodology: The effect of geomagnetic storms, solar flares, and solar proton events was estimated by applying multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for clinical variables.
Results: Geomagnetic storms occurring one day after hospital admission increased the risk of in-hospital death and MACE by over 2.9 times (respectively, OR=3.69, 95% CI 1.29-10.5; and OR=2.91, 95% CI 1.33-6.36). A dose-response relationship was observed between the daily geomagnetic level (quiet-unsettled, active, or stormy) on the day prior to hospitalization and the risk of mortality or MACE (respectively, 1; 1.98(0.75-5.19); 4.20(1.43-12.3), and 1; 2.41(1.19-4.91); 3.45(1.55-7.71)). Solar flares occurring 0-2 days before the admission increased the risk of MACE by over 1.9 times. Among high-risk patients admitted one day after active-stormy geomagnetic level, in-hospital death occurred in 10.8% and MACE – in 15.3% cases; among patients hospitalized one day after quiet-unsettled geomagnetic level, the respective percentage was 4.8 and 7.9.
Conclusions: The heliophysical conditions during hospital admission affect the risk in-hospital lethal outcome and MACE, adjusting for clinical variables; these effects were stronger in high risk patients.