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A study conducted in Brazil by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) found that each additional day spent under a heat wave in São Paulo is associated with an increased risk of acute stroke in people ages 65 and older. For the research, a heat wave was defined as at least two consecutive days with maximum temperatures of 33.1 °C (92 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher.

This impact becomes even more critical when high temperatures are combined with air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM₁₀)—a mixture of microscopic solid and liquid particles originating mainly from the burning of vehicle fuels and inhalable dust, which are highly prevalent in São Paulo's air. With each additional day under these conditions, the probability of a stroke among older adults in São Paulo increases, according to the research data.

Some preliminary results of the study were presented by Alessandra Carvalho Goulart, a professor at the USP Medical School (FM-USP), in a lecture given during FAPESP Week Netherlands.

"This is the first time that population-based epidemiological research—that is, research based on real-world data from a large segment of society—has quantified, in Latin America's largest metropolis, the direct and acute impact of heat stress on the immediate risk of acute stroke in older adults," Goulart tells Agência FAPESP.

To arrive at these results, the researchers used epidemiological data from the Stroke Mortality and Morbidity Study (EMMA), a project also conducted at USP.

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