Vision 2030: Climate adaptation for improved cardiovascular-renal-metabolic health outcomes

Climate change will have huge effects on disease burdens and the capacity of our health systems to deal with them. This is particularly the case for cardiovascular, renal and metabolic conditions. This related group of diseases includes some of the world’s biggest killers: five of the top 12 causes of death globally belong to this category of illnesses, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) alone account for just under a third (32%) of global deaths each year. 

Without proper action now, we are likely to see further new cases and more mortality associated with these diseases. At the same time, the delivery of care by healthcare systems will be impacted as infrastructure becomes weakened by climate-related weather effects (see Figure 1). Without taking appropriate action to stay cool, heatwaves will drive higher rates of kidney disease and CVD. Similarly, disruptive weather events, such as storms and floods, will have long-term effects on people living with cardiovascular-renal-metabolic diseases. For instance, the impact of hurricanes on all-mortality deaths rates for those living with diabetes can last for more than a decade.