Preventive measures in earthquake-prone areas should be considered, such as public availability of automated external defibrillators and advanced hospital disaster planning, suggested Dr. Nakamura, professor of medicine at Iwate (Japan) Medical University. Clinicians should keep a supply of medications on hand to help prevent MI in high-risk patients, such as quick-acting calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers, aspirin, and sublingual nitroglycerin, he added.
The cardiac effects of natural disasters can be felt long after a hurricane dies or the ground stops shaking. Pictures of the destruction may feel heartbreaking, but it’s clear that these disasters really do break hearts.
Dr. Nakamura’s study was funded in part by the Takeda Science Foundation. Dr. Irimpen, Dr. Peters, and Dr. Nakamura reported having no financial disclosures.
–By Sherry Boschert