Extreme heat worsens chronic health conditions in Americans – NBC New York

The United States is on track to break temperature records, exposing millions of Americans living in the hardest-hit regions of the country to long-term, life-threatening health problems.

Most states in the South and Southeast, including Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and North Carolina, are under heat warnings this Labor Day, according to the National Weather Service.

Extreme heat can be dangerous for anyone at any age. For many people living in these areas, the constant high temperatures can be particularly distressing.

States like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina have some of the highest rates of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease in the U.S.

These diseases make it harder for the body to cool itself effectively during heat waves.

“People with chronic health conditions are going to be more susceptible, especially if they have long days of high heat and high humidity,” said Dr. John Sherner, chief of medicine at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “Their bodies aren’t going to be able to regulate their temperature as tightly, so as the environment gets warmer, they’re going to heat up more quickly.”

While no part of the United States is spared from rising heat and rising illness, in the South and Southeast, the two phenomena often dangerously overlap.

Heat Risk Forecast for Monday

“High” and “extreme” heat risk levels pose a risk to people who are unheated and unhydrated.

In these conditions, the body’s natural impulse is to dilate blood vessels to get more blood to the skin, to expel as much internal heat as possible. The heart has to work hard to make this happen.

It is in the Southern states that historically there have been more cases of residents who have health problems that make it difficult to perform activities necessary to maintain a normal body temperature.

For example, heart failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump oxygen-rich blood with full power to the body, even at normal temperature.

Heart Failure Hospitalization Rates 2019–2021

Among people age 65 and older, Medicare beneficiaries in the eastern United States had the highest rates of hospitalization for heart failure.

Older Medicare beneficiaries living in Southern and Eastern states had the highest rates of heart failure hospitalizations in the country, according to 2019-2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospital system burdens

“We’re seeing a lot of heart failure,” said Dr. Joanne Skaggs, associate medical director for adults at OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center, as well as “a significant number of patients who are dehydrated and dizzy” in emergency departments.

She added that this combination places a “huge burden on an already strained” healthcare system.

According to the CDC, the risk of heart failure is even greater in patients with diabetes or other chronic diseases.

“I had a couple that literally cooked themselves,” said Dr. David Obert, of the University of Southern Nevada Medical Center in Las Vegas. The couple, both older adults, were stuck at home for three days after their air conditioning broke and they developed severe kidney failure.

“A cycle we can’t break”

Heat waves are getting longer and more intense every year.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2023 was the warmest year on record, and there is a 77% chance that 2024 will break that record.

“Unfortunately, this is a cycle we can’t break,” said Kimberly McMahon, public programs manager for NOAA’s National Weather Service.

This summer, the National Integrated Heating Health Information System developed a federal strategic plan to examine critical issues related to heat health impacts. McMahon is co-chair.

“If we know that heat is deadly — and we’re actually very good at predicting how hot it’s going to be — why are we still having so many deaths?” she said.

Stay safe in the heat

• Drink water. When you think you’ve had enough, drink more.
• Recognize the signs of heat-related illness, including cramps, muscle spasms, dizziness, headaches, weakness, nausea, and confusion. These are signs that a person may need medical attention.
• If you don’t have access to air conditioning or other ways to cool down, seek help.

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