These 6 Health Risks Can Significantly Increase on Hot Days

Heart attack, stroke, and several other health risks can increase significantly on hot summer days.
• Temperatures are rising across the U.S. (and the globe) as summer and climate change take hold.
• Research indicates that heat can raise the risk of all-course mortality.
• Specifically, doctors and data point to certain health risks that increase along with temperatures, including migraine episodes, heart attacks, and strokes.

One 2022 studyTrusted Source of more than 219 million U.S. adults ages 20 and older suggested a link between extreme heat and all-course mortality. The most significant risks were to older individuals. However, health experts say it’s critical for everyone to understand the health risks that can come with extreme heat.

“It is easy in the summer to be distracted by lots of fun outdoor activities, but heat can impact your health and make you very ill, especially if you are not paying attention to signs from your body or are at extremes of age,” says Dr. Jo Anna Leuck, MD, the associate dean of educational affairs at Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University. “There are easy ways to prevent this impact, so it is important to understand the dangers of heat and how to avoid them.”

To help you prepare for the warmer season and the years ahead, doctors shared six ways the heat can increase health risks and tips for staying cool.
۶ Health Risks That Rise With Hot Weather
Christopher F. Freer, DO, the senior vice president of Emergency and Hospitalist Medicine at RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey, explains that specific populations are at higher risk of experiencing health issues in hot weather.

These populations include:
• Infants and young children whose bodies can’t regulate temperature as well or request/access fluids on their own
• Older adults, particularly those with underlying conditions
• Pregnant people
• People with chronic health conditions

Still, no one is immune to heat-related health issues, and understanding the signs can help you protect yourself (and anyone around you who may be at a higher risk for more severe outcomes).
The following are six of the most common health risks that can increase when temperatures are higher.

Migraine attacks
DataTrusted Source indicates that migraine attacks affect 12 to 15% of the general population. The effects can be debilitating.
“Migraines are not ‘bad headaches,’” says Dr. Joshua Feinstein, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Memorial Hermann.

While throbbing headaches are one symptom, others include:
• Light and sound sensitivity
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Dizziness

Heart attack
ResearchTrusted Source published in Circulation in 2023 suggested that cardiovascular disease deaths caused by heat could surge by an estimated 162% by mid-century (2036-2065).
Stroke
One 2020 study indicated that weather conditions, including high temperatures, are becoming a novel stroke risk factor.

Heatstroke
“Heat increases the risk of stroke both through causing ‘regular’ strokes through dehydration, but also in causing Heat Stroke by elevation of body temperature,” Feinstein explains.
Like strokes, Freer says that heatstroke is a medical emergency.

“The signs of heatstroke are confusion, altered behavior, a change in speech, and even seizures,” Freer says.
Worsening of kidney disease
Kidney disease affects an estimated 37 million AmericansTrusted Source, and research published in 2022 suggested a significant association between kidney disease-related emergency room visits and extreme heat exposure.

Higher or lower blood pressure
Heat can cause blood pressure to become too low or too high.