How Heatwaves Affect Our Health

July 15 2022   |   News

With increasing prolonged hot weather in recent years and particularly with the impending heatwave in the UK it’s worth thinking about how this affects our health. 

Our bodies only have only two ways to regulate heat: –  

• Redistributing blood flow to the skin for heat to transfer away from the body; 
• Secreting sweat which evaporates and draws heat away from the body 

So when blood is diverted to the skin (which incidentally is the largest organ in the body), your heart has to pump harder and faster. Couple this with water loss through sweating and this reduces the circulating volume still further. 

All this exposes the cells of our body, which are already under heat stress too, to further damage. Any existing (or perhaps unknown) conditions are exacerbated (made worse) and even healthy organs can sustain damage from heat stress: – 

• Kidneys 
• Liver 
• Lungs 
• Intestines 

Whilst we can’t do anything about the weather, we can check on our health and Summerfield’s broad range of health checks can give a complete rundown on your health, from the basics to advanced investigations.  

Wellman/women health checks include full blood work, breathing and heart assessments for a complete health assessment.