Letter to the Editor Response

Abstract

To the Editor We thank Dr. Luis Rafael Moscote-Salazar and Dr. Amit Agrawal for their interest in our recently published article in the Journal.1 The authors do not raise any concerns about the scientific facts and the information given in our study that assessed the impact of meteorological variables in extremely hot and arid climate on stroke rate.

Dr. Moscote-Salazar and Dr. Agrawal raised a very good point relating to the percent of patients with optimal control of blood pressure and good compliance with medications among those who had a history of hypertension to understand the impact of lifestyle-related risk factors on the occurrence of stroke. We also agree with Dr. Moscote-Salazar and Dr. Agrawal that “there is a need for further well-designed prospective studies to assess the impact of dose and duration of solar radiation exposure, working outdoor versus indoor, and whether an increase in temperature was associated with increased indoor stay and sedentary lifestyle and thus increased risk of ischemic stroke.”2