Association of Snowfall and Myocardial Infarction

January 9, 2018 updated by: Medical University of Graz
Changes in the ambient temperature (esp. warm to cold) as well as exercise are triggers for vasospasms and plaque rupture. Weather data (temperature, precipitation in general as well as snowfall and changes in atmospheric pressure) will be correlated with the incidence of myocardial infarctions.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Besides classical cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, obesity, elevated cholesterol levels and diabetes there are also acute factors potentially triggering acute coronary events. The impact of air temperature (changes) or humidity are of potential relevance. In addition, exercise and the associated increase in oxygen demand of the myocardium and blood pressure is another trigger for plaque rupture and the acute onset of myocardial infarction. Male patients as well as patients with previous coronary heart disease or little regular exercise are at increased risk.

Possible additional mechanisms of exercise induced myocardial infarction are vasospasm and changes in blood clotting.

Changes in the ambient temperature (warm to cold) can also induce vasospasm which might result in reduced perfusion and plaque rupture. It seems that male patients are more involved than female patients.

Taking the exercise and the ambient temperature changes into consideration, heavy snowfall with consecutive snow shoveling is an augmented risk for acute myocardial infarction.

The rationale of the study is to test if the above mentioned constellation of environmental factors as well as potential increased exercise have a significant and independent impact on the incidence of myocardial infarctions

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

18075

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Austria
      • Graz, Austria, 8010
        • Medical University of Graz

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

All patients with myocardial infarction being transfered to a cath lab either at the medical university of Graz or the department of cardiology at the state hospital Graz West

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • myocardial infarction being confirmed or treated in the cathlab

Exclusion Criteria:

  • none

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Retrospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
snowfall >5cm/d
impact of snowfall and its correlation with acute myocardial infarctions is analyzed. Other precipitation (rainfall) changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature will be variables to be corrected for.
Other: snowfall > 5cm/day
the number of myocardial infarctions of every day analysed in this study will be correlated with the respective values of snowfall

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
myocardial infarction
Time Frame: 1 day
the number of myocardial infarctions of every day analysed in this study will be correlated with the respective values of snowfall
1 day

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Medical University of Graz

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 30, 2017

Study Completion (Actual)

June 30, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 22, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 23, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

September 26, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 10, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 9, 2018

Last Verified

January 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EK28-433ex15/16

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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