Summer is a season that we all look forward to in order to rest, recharge our batteries and get back to the daily routine. But apart from the rest and the carefree feeling that accompanies it, summer is associated with high temperatures and increased humidity, conditions that most healthy people can cope with without problems, but not heart patients.
These patients, who are considered a vulnerable group, cannot respond as quickly to temperature changes, which stresses their heart and makes them more vulnerable to heat stroke, which can be life-threatening. Among the most important heart-related health problems affected in summer are blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia and coronary heart disease.
Why high temperatures threaten heart patients
The body exposed to high temperatures tries to balance the external temperature with its own through sweating. But when the context is stifling, with humidity taking centre stage, this mechanism may not be very efficient, while stressing the heart through increased heart rate.
Another way to bring the body’s temperature down to normal levels is for the heart to work faster, so that more blood is pumped to the skin from where the temperature will be expelled. This process, however, when the outside temperature is higher than or equal to the body temperature, does not work, simply leaving the heart overworked. And especially in people with a history of heart attack, arterial stenosis, but also in people taking certain medications, such as beta-blockers, the heart finds it difficult to pump a sufficient amount of blood to the skin to reduce body temperature, making them more vulnerable to heat stroke.
Particularly sensitive are those suffering from heart failure, since due to the increase in pulse and sweating activated to reduce body temperature, a drop in blood pressure can be caused.
During sweating the body loses more fluids than it should, including electrolytes and especially sodium chloride, so especially people taking diuretic drugs should, in collaboration with their doctor, adjust the dosage during the warmer days of summer to avoid aggravating fluid loss.
What heart patients should do
So what is the correct behaviour of a heart patient in summer and especially on those days when the temperature rises dangerously and the increased humidity creates suffocating conditions?
1. A necessary move to protect a heart patient from the peculiar summer conditions is good hydration. Eight glasses of water a day is necessary to prevent the body from becoming dehydrated. The heart patient should not allow himself to become thirsty, because this is the first sign of dehydration. He should treat hydration as a natural medicine that protects him in conditions of high temperatures.
2.The consumption of alcohol and caffeinated beverages should be avoided, as they are in no way considered fluids that hydrate the body, but have the exact opposite effect.
3.It is also advisable for a person with cardiovascular problems not to walk around, unless there is a reason to do so, during days with very high temperatures. If he cannot avoid it, however, it is better to choose very early morning, afternoon or evening hours for going out, always carrying a bottle of water and avoiding the period between 11 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon.
4.When out and about, he should wear light-coloured, light, cool and comfortable cotton clothes that are not constricting and use a hat and glasses and sunscreen.
5. But a heart patient should also payattention totheir diet during the summer months. Salads, and fruits with a high water content, cold meals and generally smaller quantities and lighter foods should make up the summer dietary menu.
6. It is alsoadvisable , especially on hot days, to prefer air-conditioned rooms and not to be content with using a fan that simply recirculates the hot air.
7. Frequent, cool showers are also beneficial, but not cold ones, as the body needs time to adjust to the change in temperature.
8.The hot summer days are not suitable for intense physical exercise. An alternative and particularly refreshing is relaxed swimming either in the sea or in the pool.
9.It is also advisable for heart patients to be in regular contact with their doctor during the summer and to make sure that they check their heart and especially their condition.
The conditions of high temperatures and increased humidity during the summer are difficult even for healthy people. All the more so for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases and who , in consultation with their doctor , must take measures to avoid unpleasant situations .