Climate change killed Coolio
We’re turning up the heat and risk of heart disease globally. (Screencap: Tommy Boy Records via Youtube)
At the start of the year, TikTok re-acquainted me with the music of ‘90s hip hop icon Coolio. While I’m not the most avid fan of the genre, his biggest song “Gangsta’s Paradise” contained a few choice lines and a trap beat which were too good to forget 27 years after the song’s release. It even reached a billion views on YouTube last July. So you could only imagine my shock and grief when I learned Coolio had passed away last Wednesday.
He reportedly died of a heart attack at a friend’s Los Angeles Home, just one day short of World Heart Day on September 29. Of course, the irony wasn’t lost on me as a health writer.
Once embroiled in California’s drug scene, Coolio, born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., asked once: “I’m 23 now, but will I live to see 24?” He fortunately lived on to 59, but this is still below 65, the average age for a first heart attack in men in the US. While heart attacks have become more prevalent among younger people in recent years, the risk increases among males and African Americans.
In the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that more young Filipinos are developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD). CVDs are part of the larger group of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which caused 72% of local deaths last year. World Health Organization (WHO) Philippines Officer-in-Charge Dr. Graham Harrison said this was also found in 75% of countries.
The pandemic could be to blame for a change and increase in NCD risk factors. It wasn’t just about non-COVID health services being put in hold. Lockdowns led to less physical activity and economic insecurity left many people unable to afford a healthy diet.
But besides the socioeconomic causes of poor health, experts are now pointing to rising temperatures too.
“Too hot, homie (too hot)”
On World Heart Day, the World Heart Federation (WHF) called for urgent action on climate change and health inequity. It’s common knowledge by now that record-breaking heat waves are bad for everyone in more ways than one. This time, we’re taking it to heart—literally.
A recent study links heat exposure to a greater risk for cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. As it is, climate change and related air pollution already account for 7 million or 25% of total deaths from CVD each year. A hotter environment can cause the heart to work overtime to cool the body, reduce blood pressure, and trigger harmful side effects from heart medications. With the combined effects of global warming, population growth, and aging, we can only expect this impact to grow.
“Climate change is not about polar bears or icebergs anymore. It’s about people’s health, especially poor people’s health,” said Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Health at the WHO.
Climate action is a public health response. It’s not just about living healthier or being born with the right genes anymore. It’s about being able to work and live somewhere that won’t compromise your health or your ability to afford basic needs.
We have to solve several problems at once so they don’t give birth to new ones—and we can't expect to solve the public health crisis while officials and corporations continue to ignore or deny climate change.
At the 2019 World Economic Forum, prominent climate activist Greta Thunberg said: “I want you to act as if the house is on fire. Because it is.” In Coolio’s words: “Too hot, homie (too hot). Gotta make some sense from this mess that we made.” (This one’s originally about safe sex, but you get me.) If we all make it to 2050 with polar caps and cardiac health intact, we’ll have Greta and Coolio to thank.
