Climate Change and Cardiovascular Disease Collaborative (CCC)

Climate change poses a significant risk to cardiovascular health. Exposure to poor air quality due to particle pollution or extreme heat can increase the risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke, particularly in people already at risk for these conditions.1,2

The Million Hearts® Climate Change and Cardiovascular Disease Collaborative (CCC), in partnership with the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), the CDC National Center for Environmental Health, and the Environmental Protection Agency, is a national forum for health professionals and organizations looking to deepen their knowledge about the cardiovascular health threats like air pollution and extreme heat events present, offer evidence-based interventions to address those threats (especially for high-risk populations), and provide opportunities to test and refine relevant solutions and tools.

The CCC will host a series of interactive webinars to enable an exchange of knowledge and resources. Experts will lead the conversation and cover the following topics:

To receive continuing education (CE) for CCC sessions in 2023, visit CDC’s Training and Continuing Education Online (TCEO) system and follow these 9 Simple Steps.

Tools and Resources from the CCC

  • Climate Resources for Health Education
    This repository from the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham Women’s Hospital, University of California San Francisco, and Emory University School of Medicine provides evidence-based resources for accelerating the incorporation of climate change and planetary health information into educational curricula.
  • Building Resilience Against Climate Effects (BRACE) Framework
    CDC’s BRACE framework is a five-step process that allows health officials to develop strategies and programs to help communities prepare for the health effects of climate change.
  • Climate Change and Health Playbook
    This playbook created by the American Public Health Association and CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry supports the work of state, local, territorial, and tribal health services across the nation in embedding justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into their climate and resilience initiatives, programs, and operations.
  • Heat & Health Tracker
    The CDC Heat & Health Tracker provides local heat and health information so communities can better prepare for and respond to extreme heat events. It can be used to explore how extreme heat affects your county, populations who are at risk, and response resources.
  • Smoke-Ready Toolbox for Wildfires
    This toolbox from EPA has resources to help educate people about the risks of smoke exposure and actions they can take to protect their health.
  • Healthy Heart Toolkit and Research
    This toolkit from EPA has resources for both clinicians and patients explaining how air pollution can trigger heart attacks and strokes and worsen heart conditions in people with known heart disease.
  • EnviroAtlas
    This EPA tool provides geospatial data, easy-to-use tools, and other resources related to ecosystem services, their chemical and non-chemical stressors, and human health.
  • Accelerating Healthcare Sector Action on Climate Change and Health Equity
    This webinar series from OCCHE explores available government supports to assist healthcare stakeholders taking action to address the harmful impacts of climate change on people living in the United States.
  • Federal Resources to Support Emissions Reduction and Climate Resilience for Healthcare Stakeholders
    This compendium of federal resources from OCCHE may assist healthcare stakeholders in emissions reduction and climate change adaptation.
  • The Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Health Care Facilities Toolkit
    This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration toolkit was designed to assist organizations engaged in health care facility climate resilience as they improve their response to extreme weather events and includes a suite of online tools and resources that highlight emerging best practices for developing sustainable and climate-resilient health care facilities.

References

  1. Gold DR, Samet JM. Air pollution, climate, and heart disease. 2013;128:e411–e414.
  2. Rajagopalan S, Al-Kindi SG, Brook, R.D. Air pollution and cardiovascular disease: JACC state-of-the-art review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(17):2054-2070.