Do solar storms lead to increased hospital visits?

SAO PAULO – Solar activity that impacts Earth’s geomagnetic field may increase the risk of heart attacks, particularly among women, according to research conducted by health experts in Brazil.

The study, published in the journal Communications Medicine, analyzed hospital admissions between 1998 and 2005 and found that there was a significantly higher number of heart attacks when compared to periods of less solar activity.

Solar storms occur after eruptions on the Sun lead to coronal mass ejections and solar flares.

Events send high-energy particles and electromagnetic radiation toward Earth, which can impact communications equipment and trigger displays of Northern Lights, but how they impact human health remains poorly understood.

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“It is noteworthy to highlight that the results presented in this study are not conclusive and, therefore, the intention is not to incite alarm within the population, particularly among femalest,” the study authors stated. “Rather, these findings represent an empirical result of hypothetical significance that should not be disregarded within any technical-scientific context.”

The research team compared hospital admissions to planetary Kp index values, which measure geomagnetic activity.

The index ranges from 0 to 9 and indicates the disturbance levels of Earth’s magnetic field.

Generally, men were admitted for heart attacks nearly twice as often as women, but during days with high Kp index values, that gap narrowed significantly.

While men still accounted for more cases, women’s rates rose disproportionately, leading researchers to hypothesize that biological rhythms and cardiovascular functions were altered by the ongoing space event.

Women, particularly those over the age of 30, showed the greatest changes during the presence of the geomagnetic conditions.

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The study coincided with Solar Cycle 23, which began in 1996 and ended in 2008, according to NASA.

During the event, several large solar flares and coronal mass ejections were observed in years such as 2000, 2001 and 2003.

Researchers did not state if they examined hospitalizations during Solar Cycle 19, which lasted from around 1954 to 1964.

The time period is considered to have been one of the most active solar activity cycles, with some 285 sunspots detected in March 1958.

The Sun is currently in what is known as Solar Cycle 25, which started in 2019 and peaked activity in October 2024.

NASA anticipates the cycle ending around 2030, when disruptive solar activity will be at a minimum, before peaking again in the mid to late 2030s during Solar Cycle 26.