The U.S. is on track to break heat records, putting millions of Americans in the hardest-hit areas of the country at risk of long-term, life-threatening health problems.
According to the National Weather Service, most Southern and Southeast states are under heat warnings for Labor Day, including Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and the Carolinas.
Extreme heat can be dangerous for anyone, regardless of age, and for many people who live in these regions, the unrelentingly high temperatures are especially miserable.
States such as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina have some of the highest rates of chronic diseases in the United States, including diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease.
These illnesses make it difficult for the body to cool itself effectively during heat waves.
“People with chronic health problems are more susceptible to particularly hot and humid weather,” said Dr. John Scharner, medical director at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “Their bodies can’t regulate their temperature as tightly, so when the environment gets hot, they heat up more quickly.”
While no part of the United States is immune to rising temperatures or the spread of underlying diseases, the two often overlap dangerously in the South and Southeast.
In these situations, your body’s natural impulse is to dilate, or widen, your blood vessels to send more blood to your skin and release as much heat as possible. To make this happen, your heart has to work harder.
Historically, it is these southern states where many residents have had more difficulty doing the things necessary to maintain a healthy body temperature due to underlying health conditions.
For example, heart failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to pump oxygen-rich blood around the body with sufficient force, even at room temperature.
Elderly Medicare recipients living in southern and eastern states had the highest rates of hospitalization for heart failure in the country, according to 2019-21 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Strain on hospital systems
“We’re seeing a lot of patients with heart failure,” said Dr. Joan Skaggs, associate chief medical officer for adults at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, adding that emergency departments are seeing “a significant number of patients complaining of dehydration and dizziness.”
The combination puts “additional strain” on an already strained health care system, she said.
According to the CDC, people with diabetes and other chronic diseases are at even higher risk for heart failure.
“We had a couple who literally cooked themselves,” said Dr. David Aubert of the University of Southern Nevada Medical Center in Las Vegas, who were both elderly and ended up housebound for three days after their air conditioner broke and developed severe kidney failure.
“An unbreakable vicious cycle”
Heat waves are getting longer and more intense every year.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there’s a 77% chance that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, with that record being broken in 2024.
“Unfortunately, this seems to be a vicious cycle that can’t be broken,” said Kimberly McMahon, public programs manager for NOAA’s National Weather Service.
This summer, the National Integrated Heat Illness Information System developed a federal strategic plan designed to explore key questions about the health effects of heat, of which McMahon is co-chair.
“If we know heat is deadly, and we’re good at predicting how hot it’s going to get, why do we continue to see so many deaths?” she said.
Protect yourself from the heat
Drink water. If you feel like you have enough, drink more water. Watch for signs of heatstroke, such as cramps, muscle spasms, dizziness, headache, weakness, nausea, and confusion. These are signs that you need to see a doctor. If you don’t have air conditioning or other ways to cool down, seek help.
