Exploring the Potential Observations Between Geomagnetic Activity and Cardiovascular Events: A Scoping Review

Key points

• A systematic search across four databases yielded 36 included studies on geomagnetic activity/space weather and cardiovascular outcomes.
• Most included studies (28/36) reported significant correlations with increased cardiovascular events or mortality.
• Geomagnetic storms, solar proton events, and high-speed solar wind were reported to coincide with spikes in acute cardiovascular incidents in some studies.
• Higher susceptibility was reported among people with pre-existing risk factors (e.g., diabetes, metabolic syndrome, prior CVD).
• Some studies reported stroke risk increasing with storm intensity, including reports of up to 52% higher risk during severe storms.
• Low geomagnetic activity combined with high cosmic ray activity was reported as consistently associated with higher myocardial infarction incidence and mortality.
• The review notes that some findings suggest more active solar conditions might be protective.
• The authors highlight that evidence is largely ecological and confounding is often not fully controlled, supporting the need for prospective standardized studies.

Referenced studies & papers

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