SUNDAY, June 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The record-breaking heat that’s scorching much of the United States this week poses significant heart dangers, and you need to take steps to protect yourself, the American Heart Association (AHA) says.
That’s especially true for older adults and people with high blood pressure, obesity or a history of heart disease or stroke.
Heat and dehydration force the heart to work harder to cool itself by pumping more blood and shifting it from major organs to underneath the skin.
Research shows that when temperatures reach extremes of an average daily temperature of 109 degrees Fahrenheit (as it has this week in the Southwest), the number of deaths from heart disease may double or triple, and that the more temperatures fluctuate during the summer, the more severe strokes may become.
