The hot summer days increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, especially in people over 50 years of age. High summer temperatures increase blood thickness, raising blood pressure and heart rate, thus increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
The risk increases when temperatures rise to 32 degrees Celsius, which is common in the summer, and in addition to being more severe for those already suffering from high cholesterol and high blood pressure, the risk also rises for people who have high blood pressure once and this should all protect themselves from the heat and pay even more attention to their pressure.
Warning Signs
On hot days, watch for the following signs that may indicate a heart attack or stroke:
- Chest pain that may radiate to the arm, back, or chin
- Strange feeling in the throat;
- Anxiety;
- Accelerated heart rate;
- Dizziness or headache.
When observing these symptoms one should try to sit the victim and loosen their clothes and call an ambulance.
What to do to lower the pressure
In addition to daily care such as drinking plenty of water, avoiding alcoholic beverages and restricting fat consumption, if the pressure is above 140 x 90 mmHg you should drink a glass of orange juice or a lemonade with sugar and wait a while until can measure the pressure again.
If the person already takes medicine to control the pressure must take this medicine as soon as possible. Most often the hypertensive who takes the medicine indicated by his cardiologist can normalize his pressure before suffering a heart attack or stroke, but it is good to follow the doctor's advice daily so as not to take the risk.
How to protect yourself from heat
To reduce the risks to health, what can be done to prevent excessive heat is:
- Drink plenty of water or other non-alcoholic liquids;
- Wear light clothing;
- Avoid heavy and greasy foods giving salads and lean meats
- Exercise early in the morning, away from the sun and
- Avoid physical exertion in the hottest hours of the day.
In addition it is important to take good care of health throughout the year so as to avoid high blood pressure, diabetes and sedentary lifestyle that are factors that can trigger serious problems like heart and other diseases.
Against the dry climate, what you can do is give preference to the fans and avoid the air conditioning, which leaves the air even drier and put a basin of water around. So the water evaporates gradually and leaves the environment a little more humid, improving the breathing.
