Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death across all nations. The death count due to CVD has increased to 19.8 million in 2022 from 12.4 million in 1990. Not just family history, diabetes, high BP and cholesterol, lifestyle, aging, gender or smoking are causal factors, but exposure to increasing temperatures can also place a significant burden on your heart health. The higher is the temperature, the greater is the threat. As per Environmental Protection Agency, an independent agency of the US government, high heat-related cardiovascular disease is responsible for a quarter of heat-related deaths.
High heat puts a lot of stress on the cardiovascular system. It is because high humidity and high temperature cause increased blood flow due to which the heart pumps twice the amount of blood as compared to a normal day. This increases the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and heart arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat). In summers, blood circulation per minute doubles or quadruples as compared to the circulation in winters.
