Extremely Hot Weather and Heart Health

The summer months, when the temperature rises extremely, can cause some cardiac conditions which can be seen even in healthy individuals. Extremely hot weather causes aggravate complaints of the patients with known heart disease, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and who had undergone bypass surgery. For this reason, these patients should be very careful.        

Another circulatory disorder caused by and associated with the loss of body fluid is the hypercoagulability (tendency to blood clotting). This condition also contributes to the increased rate of heart attacks observed in the extremely hot and humid summer months. To prevent a possible heart attack, especially people with a heart disease should drink plenty of water, and avoid from harmful rays of the sun.   

In these days, when vacation and travel plans are made, medication treatments should be revised and modified, if necessary, by doctors and it is required to take some measures in order to avoid all these negative effects and to prevent the cardiac diseases.   

• First of all, you should drink enough liquid. It is necessary to drink especially 2-2.5 liters of water per day. The patients with heart failure should definitely consult with their doctors about the amount of liquid they should take.
• You should not go outside at the hours, when the solar rays pose strongest effects. The patients with cardiovascular disease should prefer to stay in cool places.
• If you drink alcohol, you should be careful to avoid from the sun exposure at the the hours, when the solar rays are the most efficient.
• You should prefer light-colored and comfortable clothes made of anti-perspirant fabric.

You should eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, and avoid from eating excessively fatty and salty food. As summer fruits and anticoagulants may interact, medical examinations of the patients, who use the anticoagulants, should be made more frequently.