5 health issues that can worsen in a heat wave — including how high temps can trigger a heart attack and stroke
It's miserable — but it's worth remembering that, without the proper precautions, it's also extremely dangerous.
Dehydration can cause dizziness, headaches, low blood pressure, blurred vision, kidney problems and, in extreme cases, fatal heatstroke.
Advertisement
And that's just in healthy people.
3 Dr. Thomas Gut and Dr. Nima Majlesi explain how high temperatures can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, kidney issues, respiratory problems and more.
realstock1 – stock.adobe.com
While everyone should try to stay cool and hydrated in these sizzling temperatures, The Post spoke to two doctors who warn that people with these health issues are at especially high risk.
Heart disease
'Those with cardiovascular disease are at high risk since these patients are often asked to limit fluid intake,' Dr. Thomas Gut, Associate Chair of Medicine at Northwell's Staten Island University Hospital, told The Post.
Advertisement
'Sweating beyond the normal daily expected amount can lead to significant fluid shifts and electrolyte imbalances that can cause significant harm, especially to those already taking diuretics medications.'
Dr. Nima Majlesi, who practices emergency medicine at the same hospital, told The Post that high temperatures can mess with the normal blood flow to the heart, potentially causing acute coronary syndrome, which spikes the risk of heart attack.
When you get really hot, your body needs to work harder to cool you down, which can also place more strain on the heart.
Advertisement
For this reason, people who are at risk for heart failure are also in danger of getting worse in the heat, Majlesi noted.
3 Gut warns that people with respiratory diseases are at greater risk because 'hot air, especially if humid, can trigger patients with even well-controlled breathing conditions into rapid and shallow breathing.'
cunaplus – stock.adobe.com
Respiratory diseases
It's normal to experience some difficulty breathing when it's really hot, because your body's attempts to cool down require more oxygen.
Advertisement
However, Gut warns that people with respiratory diseases are at greater risk because 'hot air, especially if humid, can trigger patients with even well-controlled breathing conditions into rapid and shallow breathing.'
Those who depend on supplied oxygen are of particular concern, since power outages are more common during heatwaves due to 'the increased demand for homes needing cooling — power outages can leave those vulnerable patients without additional oxygen supplies,' he said.
3 Drink half a glass of water per hour, or as instructed by your own doctor, to stay properly hydrated.
Antonioguillem – stock.adobe.com
Kidney disease
'Patients with kidney disease are also at high risk for electrolyte imbalances as their hydration status and sweating fluctuates during heatwaves,' Gut said.
Psychiatric conditions and drug users
'In younger populations, neuropsychiatric conditions and underlying drug use disorders create a very high risk for issues with heat stroke,' Majlesi said.
'Cocaine-related deaths increase exponentially during heat waves, for example.'
Cocaine is a stimulant that increases your body temperature and puts extra strain on your heart, both of which can cause serious issues during a heatwave.
Advertisement
The same goes for other psychological conditions that put your heart to work — such as anxiety.
Anyone on medication that slows down the body's natural cooling process
'Diuretics, allergy medications and psychiatric medications can all create issues in this patient population,' Majlesi said.
To stay safe, Gut recommends the following:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak was ‘completely preventable,' lawyer contends — putting NYC on lawsuit notice
Victims of the deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak gripping Harlem will sue the Big Apple for allegedly letting bacteria fester in city-owned cooling towers, it was announced Wednesday. The city was hit by notices of claim — or formal declarations of an intent to sue — from two construction workers for claim they contracted Legionnaires' because both the city and their employers allegedly failed to keep them safe. 'This wasn't a natural disaster,' high-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference announcing the legal action with the Rev. Al Sharpton. Advertisement 'The medical tragedy that led to the deaths of five citizens from Harlem, that we know about, was a completely preventable outbreak,' Crump charged. The notices stem from a pair of lawsuits, also filed Wednesday, against two construction companies involved in work at or near the city's Harlem Hospital — where a cooling tower was one of 12 sites in the storied neighborhood that tested positive for Legionnaires'-causing bacteria. Cooling towers atop four city-owned properties had Legionella, Department of Health officials have said. Advertisement 4 Attorney Ben Crump and the Rev. Al Sharpton unveiled a pair of lawsuits Wednesday center around Legionnaires' disease near Harlem Hospital. Robert Miller Crump alleged that rainwater from July storms was left untreated in cooling towers, including atop Harlem Hospital, leading to conditions that spawned the outbreak, which has killed five New Yorkers and sickened more than 100. New York City has yet to be officially sued because the law requires a 30-day waiting period after filing a notice of claim against the city. But those upcoming filings against the city would likely build off the suits filed by construction workers Duane Headley and Nunzio Quinto, who respectively worked for general contractors Skanska USA Building and Rising Sun Construction. Advertisement Skanska is the main contractor for the new NYC Public Health Laboratory building at 40 West 137th St. where Quinto worked and allegedly contracted the deadly bacteria. The 10-story, 240,000-square-foot facility broke ground in 2022, with the city's Economic Development Corporation and DOH overseeing the work — which has been planning on a 2026 occupancy, according to New York YIMBY. Quinto, who spoke alongside Crump and Sharpton, held out his arm to show the dark marks from the rounds of antibiotic treatment he received to fight the pneumonia-like illness. He contended his employer didn't tell his coworkers that he fell ill. Advertisement 'I can't have a safe place to work?' he said. 'This is New York City, I can't have a safe place.' 4 Construction worker Nunzio Quinto showed marks on his arm from his treatment for Legionnaires'. Robert Miller Rising Sun Construction is the main contractor at Harlem Hospital's Mural Pavilion at 506 Lenox Ave. — on the same block as the Public Health Laboratory project — which opened to the public in 2012. What work was being done at the facility this summer is unclear. The risk of Legionnaires' disease during hot Big Apple summers is so predictable that the construction companies should have protected their workers, but didn't, argued Jared Scotto, an attorney with Weitz and Luxenberg, the firm handling the cases with Crump. 'We believe that the construction companies were on notice that the Legionella bacteria contamination was a possibility based on bulletins that were given out at the beginning of July,' Scotto said. The construction companies didn't return requests for comment. Don Weiss, the former surveillance director for the DOH who helped oversee the response to The Bronx's 2015 Legionnaires' outbreak, said he was surprised at the disease's horrific spread. Advertisement He deemed it problematic that the city government's own buildings tested positive for Legionella bacteria. 'It doesn't look good. The city should hold itself to a higher standard,' he said. 4 Twelve cooling towers in Harlem tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post 4 The outbreak has killed five people and led to accusations the city dropped the ball. Rob Jejenich / NY Post Design Advertisement Weiss' own analysis of inspection records for 97 cooling towers in the Harlem ZIP codes found that just 73% conducted Legionella tests were completed within the required 90 days, meaning 27% were effectively left alone. A DOH spokesperson emphasized an investigation into the outbreak's cause was ongoing. 'Molecular testing may help us determine which cooling tower — or cooling towers — were the source of the bacteria in the Central Harlem cluster,' the spokesperson said in a statement. 'The Public Health Lab is still determining a match through DNA sequencing and we expect final results soon.' Officials with Health + Hospitals argued the lawsuit notice focused on Legionella at Harlem Hospital's cooling tower ignores the 11 other towers that tested positive. Advertisement 'NYC Health + Hospitals has a one of the most rigorous cooling tower safety and inspection programs, exceeding City testing and cleaning requirements,' a statement from the hospital system reads. 'We inspect towers every day; further, we look for legionella weekly instead of the required every 90 days.' Sharpton argued that Harlem had been neglected. 'It is frightening to us that there's not been accountability in this situation,' he said. 'So, we make this move to begin the process of accountability.'
The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
MAGA, MAHA split on pesticides
MAHA, a movement aimed at tackling the nation's chronic disease epidemic through food, health and environmental reforms, has been deeply skeptical of Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, and Big Chemical. MAHA groups have been strongly aligned with the Trump administration's actions to date on vaccines and food. But cracks are beginning to form. MAHA-aligned groups and influencers are raising alarms about provisions in a House appropriations bill they say will shield pesticide and chemical manufacturers from accountability — and ultimately make Americans less healthy. Meanwhile, a draft of the administration's 'MAHA Report' on children's health reportedly omits any calls to prevent pesticide exposure, also disappointing advocates. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his disciples espouse stricter environmental protections, while also bucking mainstream science on vaccine safety. Conservatives have traditionally sided with big business, supporting fewer regulations on potentially toxic substances. So far, business interests appear to be winning. The industry-friendly draft of a report from a commission run by Kennedy shows just how much the White House has been able to rein him in. 'It's obvious that there are tensions within this newfound coalition between MAHA and MAGA, and there are some big issues there,' said Mary Holland, CEO of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. While the pesticide issues have generated some sparks between MAHA and MAGA, the administration has taken a number of other actions to also reduce restrictions on the chemical industry more broadly. Trump himself exempted from environmental standards more than 100 polluters, including chemical manufacturers, oil refineries, coal plants and medical device sterilizers. The EPA, meanwhile, has put chemical industry alumni in leading roles and has said it wants to loosen restrictions on emissions of various cancer-linked chemicals. 'Those factions, if you will — more protective of corporate and more challenging to corporate — are both striving to get the president's ear, and I don't think they've come to a complete, sort of settlement agreement,' Holland said.
Atlantic
4 hours ago
- Atlantic
Bring on the ‘MAHA Boxes'
Millions of Americans might soon have mail from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The health secretary—who fiercely opposes industrial, ultraprocessed foods—now wants to send people care packages full of farm-fresh alternatives. They will be called 'MAHA boxes.' For the most part, MAHA boxes remain a mystery. They are mentioned in a leaked draft of a much-touted report the Trump administration is set to release about improving children's health. Reportedly, the 18-page document—which promises studies on the health effects of electromagnetic radiation and changes in how the government regulates sunscreen, among many other things—includes this: 'MAHA Boxes: USDA will develop options to get whole, healthy food to SNAP participants.' In plain English, kids on food stamps might be sent veggies. The idea might seem like a throwaway line in a wish list of policies. (Kush Desai, a deputy White House press secretary, told me that the leaked report should be disregarded as 'speculative literature.') But MAHA boxes are also referenced in the budget request that President Donald Trump sent Congress in May. In that document, MAHA boxes full of 'commodities sourced from domestic farmers and given directly to American households' are proposed as an option for elderly Americans who already get free packages of shelf-stable goods from the government. When I asked the Department of Health and Human Services for more information about MAHA boxes, a spokesperson referred me back to the White House; the Department of Agriculture, which runs the food-stamp program, did not respond. MAHA boxes are likely to come in some form or another. Some of the packages might end up in the trash. Lots of people, and especially kids, do not enjoy eating carrots and kale. Just 10 percent of U.S. adults are estimated to hit their daily recommended portion of vegetables. But if done correctly, MAHA boxes could do some real good. For years, nutrition experts have been piloting similar programs. A recent study that provided diabetic people with healthy meal kits for a year found that their blood sugar improved, as did their overall diet quality. Another, which provided people with a delivery of fruits and vegetables for 16 weeks, showed that consumption of these products increased by nearly half a serving per day. It makes sense: If healthy food shows up at your door, you're probably going to eat it. 'Pretty much any American is going to benefit from a real healthy food box,' Dariush Mozaffarian, the director of the Tufts Food Is Medicine Institute, told me. Sending people healthy food could be a simple way to deal with one of the biggest reasons why poor Americans don't eat more fruits and veggies. The food-stamp program, otherwise known as SNAP, provides enrollees with a debit card they can use for food of their choosing—and a significant portion of SNAP dollars go to unhealthy foods. Research finds that has less to do with people having a sweet tooth than it does the price of a pound of brussel sprouts. Several studies have found that, for food-stamp recipients, price is one of the biggest barriers to eating healthy. Many states already have incentives built into SNAP to encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables. MAHA boxes would be an even more direct nudge. Most nutrition experts I spoke with for this story were much more supportive of MAHA boxes being sent to Americans in addition to food stamps than as a replacement for them. Exactly how the care packages would fit into other food-assistance programs isn't yet clear. Despite its shortcomings, SNAP is very effective at limiting hunger in America. Shipping heavy boxes of produce to the nation's poor is a much bigger undertaking than putting cash on a debit card. There's also the question of what exactly these MAHA boxes will include. If the 'whole, healthy food' in each care package includes raw milk and beef tallow —which Kennedy has promoted—that would only worsen American health. (His own eating habits are even more questionable: Kennedy once said that he ate so many tuna sandwiches that he developed mercury poisoning.) In May, after the Trump administration mentioned MAHA boxes in its budget request, a White House spokesperson told CBS News that the packages would be similar to food boxes that the first Trump administration sent during the pandemic in an effort to connect hungry families with food that would otherwise go to waste. According to a letter signed by Trump that was sent to recipients, each box was supposed to come with 'nutritious food from our farmers.' News reports at the time suggested that wasn't always the case. One recipient reportedly was shipped staples such as onions, milk, some fruit, and eggs, along with seven packages of hot dogs and two blocks of processed cheese. Another described their box as 'a box full of old food and dairy and hot dogs.' The COVID-era program did eventually deliver some 173 million food boxes. But it was still a failure, Gina Plata-Nino of the Food Research & Action Center, an organization that advocates for people on food-assistance programs, told me. The logistics were such a mess that they prompted a congressional investigation. Nonprofits, which helped distribute the packages, received 'rotten food and wet or collapsing boxes,' investigators were told. And the setup of the program was apparently so rushed that the government did not bother to check food distributors' professional references; investigators concluded that a 'company focused on wedding and event planning without significant food distribution experience' was awarded a $39 million contract to transport perishables to food banks. This time around, the White House doesn't have to navigate the urgency of a sudden pandemic in its planning. But questions remain about who exactly will be responsible for getting these boxes to millions of Americans around the country. The White House will likely have to partner with companies that have experience shipping perishable items to remote areas of the country. And although the White House budget says that MAHA boxes will replace a program that primarily provides canned foods to seniors through local food banks, it remains to be seen whether these organizations would have the resources to administer a program of this size. Perhaps the Trump administration has already thought through all these potential logistical hurdles. But trouble with executing grand plans to improve American health has been a consistent theme throughout Trump's tenures in office. In 2020, for example, he pledged to send seniors a $200 discount card to help offset rising drug costs. The cards never came amid questions about the legality of the initiative. Americans do need to change their eating habits if we hope to improve our collective problems of diet-related disease. Getting people excited about the joys of eating fruits and vegetables is laudable. So, too, are some of Kennedy's other ideas on food, such as getting ultraprocessed foods out of school cafeterias. But Kennedy still hasn't spelled out how he will deliver on these grand visions. The government hasn't even defined what an ultraprocessed food is, despite wanting to ban them. The ideas are good, but a good idea is only the first step.
