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Stroke from the heat, or summer health problems
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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In hot weather, the risk of vascular pathologies - heart attacks, strokes, hemorrhages - increases sharply. Moreover, even in those who are used to considering themselves absolutely healthy people. How to protect your heart in the stuffy summer.
When overheated, fluid quickly evaporates from the body, the blood thickens, blood circulation suffers, especially peripheral circulation, in particular the brain, which needs oxygen most of all. Hence the headache, dizziness, nausea. The special insidiousness of summer heat is that in such weather small blood clots can occur, most often in the vessels of the legs. These blood clots, along with the general blood flow, enter the heart, brain and can cause blockage of small vessels. The most severe consequence of such a process is a heart attack or stroke. The viability of neurons in the brain from the moment the blood flow through the cerebral vessel stops is measured in minutes. Therefore, for people with risk factors for stroke, the main thing is to prevent disruption of blood flow through the cerebral vessels.
To avoid problems, doctors recommend that everyone who is prone to vascular problems take antiplatelet drugs daily. However, a specific drug should be prescribed by a doctor, and always after a blood test.
Cardiologists advise hypertensive and heart patients to always have medications such as…
- - no-shpa: relieves spasms and dilates blood vessels (attention! No-shpa reduces blood pressure, so those whose blood pressure fluctuates should first check its parameters),
- - glycine: stimulates the work of neurons in the brain,
- - Corvalol or Valocordin: soothe and relax tense blood vessels.
Sudden signs of deterioration in health in the summer heat can be especially dangerous, especially if speech and the ability to move are suddenly impaired. These symptoms can signal a mini-stroke. Therefore, if you notice them, you should immediately consult a doctor, since this condition can recur and cause a real stroke.
Signs of heart and brain problems:
- Hypertensive crisis - dizziness, darkening of the vision or flickering "flies", nausea, trembling of the limbs.
- Initial symptoms of a stroke include loss of consciousness, speech problems, and numbness in an arm or leg.
- Heart danger - shortness of breath, pain in the left side of the chest that radiates to the arm or back, heaviness in the heart, irregular heartbeat, feeling of fear.
5 tips to protect your heart and blood vessels in the heat
- It is essential to wear sunglasses. Excessive strain on the eye muscles can easily provoke a dangerous vascular spasm.
- People with heart disease and hypertension should avoid tight clothing and jewelry - rings, bracelets, heavy chains, etc.
- Provide your heart with potassium and magnesium - in hot weather the need for them increases. Among the products rich in potassium are dried apricots, raisins, bananas. There is a lot of magnesium in cocoa, buckwheat, beans, almonds.
- Smoke less! Nicotine prevents the blood from being filled with oxygen and causes vascular spasm.
- Don't forget to drink more. It is useful to wash your face with cool mineral water in the morning and evening - it maintains the normal balance of the skin.
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