Extremely hot weather puts a strain on the heart!

Experts warn that extreme heat and humidity in the summer months can have negative effects on physical health.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Samim Emet from the Department of Cardiology at Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine also stated that people with heart and circulatory system diseases should be more careful during these processes. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emet said that sweltering heat increases the workload of the heart and conveyed that one should be careful about fluid consumption and sports.

"With heat, the heart's workload doubles in 1 minute"

Speaking about the effects of temperatures on heart health, Cardiology Specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Samim Emet said, "Today, temperatures have started to rise slightly above seasonal norms. We find it important to warn our patients, especially in patients with high blood pressure, there can be serious problems with the heat. Some blood pressure medications may reduce thirst, serious problems in patients who have reduced water intake, water losses due to sweating, fainting, excessive drops in blood pressure or serious increases in the workload of the heart can be seen. With the heat, the workload of a heart in 1 minute doubles, fluid electrolyte losses due to sweating, dehydration, kidney and heart failure, these are all sister diseases, unfortunately, they coexist. These situations can also cause patients serious trouble. A rearrangement may be required regarding their medications. In this respect, we inform them to be in contact with their physicians and to be aware that the dose that is sufficient in the winter may change in the summer."

"Heart attacks may also increase due to abnormally high temperatures in the summer months"

Continuing his words, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emet said, "Our patients should be much more careful, especially if they are over the age of 50 and have additional diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, coronary artery disease, bypass, stent history. If it is not essential, we warn them not to be outside too much between 11:00 and 15:00 when the sun is at its most intense, if they are going to be outside, they should wear a hat and carry water with them as much as possible to meet their water needs. There are blood pressure medications that have diuretic properties, unfortunately these medications can reduce the feeling of thirst to some extent. Very serious water losses can be possible with sweating, and if our patient is a patient who consumes little water, they can experience serious low blood pressure, fainting, palpitations, arrhythmias that can be caused by electrolyte disorders, kidney failure and life-threatening arrhythmias. A study was conducted in New York in 2025, and it was observed that strokes can significantly increase up to 2 times in the summer months. In cases where humidity and temperature are combined, strokes can be 2 "It shows that it has increased by almost 100 times, the humidity rate is very effective, we have a limit there at 70 percent. Heart attacks can also increase with abnormal increases in temperatures in the summer months. The same applies in the winter, extreme cold also increases heart attacks. It is necessary to avoid heavy sports and exercises in the summer months. People need to consult with their doctors for a plan of exercise suitable for them, together with a cardiology check-up," he said.

"We need to be very careful about sports activities in the heat"

Emphasizing that care should be taken when doing sports in the summer months, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emet continued his words as follows:

"We need to be very careful about sports activities, especially in the hot summer months. It is useful to be careful not only in indoor football, but also in tennis and other outdoor sports. There are some genetic arrhythmic heart diseases, they can occur at a very young age, even in our 10s. A good event can end badly, unfortunately we encounter them. If we use tobacco, if there is a history of some heart diseases in our family at a young age, if we have additional diseases, we definitely need to undergo a cardiac check-up and enter a sports activity. Extra care needs to be taken, especially in the hot months. A friend of ours, who is 28 years old and has just graduated from university, also had a heart attack during an indoor football match, of course we are investigating whether there are genetic risks in these patients in terms of a tendency to clot. It is not like this for every patient, young person. There is definitely a substructure, an unknown disease can occur. There are patients we diagnose with their first heart attack."