As summer approaches, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a summary of the heat-related deaths from different states in the U.S between 1999 and 2009 as a warning to everyone.
Ethel Taylor, lead author of the study from the division of environmental hazards and health effects of CDC, and her team analyzed the mortality records of different states such as Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Arizona, Philadelphia, and more. They looked for the data of those who died due to extreme heat during those years.
After their review, they found out that about 7,233 individuals died due to extreme heat from 1999 to 2009. Unfortunately, nine percent of those deaths should have been prevented as there are many ways to keep the body cool and hydrated to lessen the risk to heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
The researchers decided to track and get the numbers of heat-related deaths after a report that 32 people died in 2012 in two weeks during an extremely hot period from June 30 to July 13, 2012. The temperature back then went over 100 Fahrenheit affecting over 3.8 million people. The scenario was aggravated when power shortage occurred during the same period.
When they looked at the profiles of those who died, they found out that almost 50 percent of them were aged 65 and above predominantly male. 75 percent lived alone. This finding suggested that the elderly males are more vulnerable to heat stroke.
They also identified if having an existing illness can make you more vulnerable. 44 percent of the cases had cardiovascular diseases while 12.5 percent had respiratory illnesses. The doctors were now suggesting that the medications these people were taking may have possibly dehydrated them faster since there were drugs that alter the fluid balance of the body.
69 percent died from home and had no air-conditioning due to the power shortage.
The study was able to identify who are more at risks on an extremely hot weather. Elderly males and those taking medications should double up their effort in keeping their bodies cool and hydrated by drinking lots of fluid, wearing light clothing whether indoor or outdoor, and use air-conditioning unit if possible.
The complete report was published on June 6 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention newsroom.
