Get Healthy!

• Posted December 18, 2025

L.A. Wildfires Linked To ER Surge In Heart Attacks, Lung Ailments

Heart attacks, lung problems and other illnesses spiked within three months of the Los Angeles wildfires early this year, a new study reports.

ER visits for heart attacks rose by 46% at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following the January 2025 outbreak of the fires, which menaced and destroyed thousands of L.A. homes and businesses, researchers reported Dec. 17 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Cedars-Sinai also saw a 24% increase in ER visits for respiratory problems and a 118% overall increase in visits related to illness.

“Wildfires that spread into urban areas have proven to be extremely dangerous because of how quickly they move and what they burn and release into the environment,” said senior researcher Dr. Susan Cheng, director of public health research at Cedars-Sinai.

“Our research suggests the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires had an immediate effect on people’s health,” she said in a news release.

Cedars-Sinai is located about 10 miles from Pacific Palisades and about 20 miles from Altadena, the locations of the largest L.A. wildfires in early 2025.

Researchers compared data on ER visits during the 90 days after the first fire started with visits that occurred during the same calendar period in years 2018 through 2024.

There wasn’t a significant different in total ER visits, but researchers did find a dramatic increase in visits for heart attack, lung problems and general illness.

“Fine particles released by wildfires can enter the body and cause injury, particularly to the heart and lungs,” Cheng said. “Stress related to the fires may also contribute to a broad range of health issues.”

Results also showed that abnormal blood test results related to visits for general illness more than doubled in 2025, compared to previous years.

“Abnormal blood test results could indicate that the body is responding to an external stressor such as toxins in the air,” said lead researcher Dr. Joseph Ebinger, an associate professor of cardiology at Cedars-Sinai.

“This study is an important step toward understanding how the Eaton and Palisades fires may have affected Angelenos’ health,” he said in a news release. “We need more research to determine what we can do to mitigate any remaining risks and protect people from fire harm in the future.”

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the health effects of wildfire smoke.

SOURCE: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, news release, Dec. 17, 2025