New collaborative research from the University of Sydney and the Montreal Heart Institute has shown that using a fan in hot and humid weather reduces cardiac strain in older people, contradicting recommendations from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in the US. The study, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine , looked at the efficacy of different low-cost cooling strategies – such as electric fans with and without spraying water on the skin – for older adults, who are known to be at a heightened health risk during hot summer weather. Professor Ollie Jay, Director of the Heat and Health Research Centre and Thermal Ergonomics Laboratory in the Faculty of Medicine and Health said: "Health hazards from extreme heat are becoming increasingly common because of climate change.
Older adults, especially those with heart disease, are at greater risk due to the strain that hot temperatures put on the heart. Understanding the impacts of different cooling strategies on the heart is important to help vulnerable people stay well during hot summer weather." The study exposed older participants with and without heart disease to two environments – one hot and humid (38°C and 60 percent humidity) and the other very hot and dry (45°C and 15 percent humidity); conditions chosen to represent the two most common heatwave extremes globally.
The team found that in hot and humid conditions, fan use wi.