Global Environmental Health
Heat and Heart Health
March 01, 2023
Expert: Sameed Kathana, M.D., M.P.H.
Scientists predict that heat waves will become more frequent, longer lasting, and hotter as climate change warms the planet. In the United States, heat stress kills more people every year than any other kind of weather event. Tackling climate change is critical to reducing the health dangers of extreme heat.
In this podcast episode, we speak with Dr. Sameed Khatana, a cardiologist at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. We discuss the effects of extreme heat waves on the human body, including the connection between excessive temperatures and heart disease.
Sameed Khatana, M.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine and a physician at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He completed his medical school training at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School as part of the Medical Management Leadership Track, and his cardiology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked as a fellow at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation on the delivery of diabetes prevention programs for Medicare patients.
Dr. Khatana’s research interests include health economics, quantitative evaluation of health policies, quality designation of health providers, and disparities in cardiovascular care.