While you may enjoy soaking up the sun this summer, make sure that you’re taking the right precautions to avoid heat-related complications, especially if you have heart disease or other cardiovascular diseases.
When it’s hot out, your heart needs to work harder than it normally would in order to keep your body cool. Sweating also makes your body lose water faster, which can cause potentially serious loss of blood volume and an accompanying drop in blood pressure. Low blood pressure then raises the risk of fainting or passing out.
You can protect yourself from the heat by drinking plenty of water to replenish fluids lost from sweating, avoiding the hottest parts of the day (10am-3pm), resting in the shade, and wearing lightweight, light-colored clothing in breathable fabrics. Read more about weather and heart health here.
People who are currently taking medication for heart disease should also be aware that many kinds of heart medication can impact the way that your body responds to high temperatures. Talk to your provider about the potential side effects of any meds you are currently taking.
