The Effect of Hurricane Sandy on Cardiovascular Events in New Jersey

Background-- Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey (NJ) on October 29, 2012. We studied the impact of this extreme weather event on the incidence of, and 30-day mortality from, cardiovascular (CV) events (CVEs), including myocardial infarctions (MI) and strokes, in NJ. Methods and Results-- Data were obtained from the MI data acquisition system (MIDAS), a database of all inpatient hospital discharges with CV diagnoses in NJ, including death certificates. Patients were grouped by their county of residence, and each county was categorized as either high- (41.5% of the NJ population) or low-impact area based on data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other sources. We utilized Poisson regression comparing the 2 weeks following Sandy landfall with the same weeks from the 5 previous years. In addition, we used CVE data from the 2 weeks previous in each year as to adjust for yearly changes. In the high- impact area, MI incidence increased by 22%, compared to previous years (attributable rate ratio [ARR], 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16, 1.28), with a 31% increase in 30-day mortality (ARR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.22, 1.41). The incidence of stroke increased by 7% (ARR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03, 1.11), with no significant change in 30-day stroke mortality. There were no changes in incidence or 30-day mortality of MI or stroke in the low-impact area. Conclusion-- In the 2 weeks following Hurricane Sandy, there were increases in the incidence of, and 30-day mortality from, MI and in the incidence of stroke.