Combination of extreme heat and bushfire smoke linked to heart disease deaths, especially in Australia

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-07-31 11:00

Australia; VIC

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International scientists say being exposed to extreme heat and bushfire smoke at the same time may increase your risk of dying from heart disease, especially heart failure, more than being exposed to either alone. Looking at the link in six countries - Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Thailand - they found it was strongest in Australia, where they also found a link between the combined exposure and an increased risk of stroke. These findings suggest that by treating heatwaves and bushfire smoke separately, we may be underestimating the risk of death from heart disease, the authors conclude.

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Research American College of Cardiology, Web page

Editorial / Opinion American College of Cardiology, Web page

Journal/
conference: JACC

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Monash University

Funder: Prof r. Xu was supported by VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellowships 2022. Drs Yu, Ye, and Zhou are supported by the Monash Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Science Early Career Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025. Dr Tantrakarnapa was supported by National Research Council of Thailand (Nos. 110/2021, N33A650979, and N33A670560). Dr Li was supported by an Emerging Leader Fellowship (GNT2009866) of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Dr Guo was supported by Leader Fellowship (GNT2008813) of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

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