Why do ambulances run before the storm? [WE EXPLAIN]

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The advent of the storm heralds stagnation of air and dark clouds, followed by a violent wind. The calm before the storm is interrupted by ambulance signals rushing to people in need of help. Who are they going to then? For MedTvoiLokona, the cardiologist, Dr. hab. Bartosz Hudzik.

1. The storm often goes hand in hand with heat, which means that we feel discomfort at this time not only because of the changing pressure, but also because of too high temperature.
2. People who are afraid of them, people with hypertension or asthma, as well as low blood pressure sufferers suffer during the storm
3. In hot weather, the risk of a heart attack increases. Moreover, in such conditions, the risk of death in such a situation increases by over 60%.
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Agnieszka Mazur-Puchała, Medonet: Before the storm begins, there is a moment when ambulances start to run. Why is this happening? Which conditions worsen before the storm?

Dr hab. Bartosz Hudzik, cardiologist: The topic is difficult, because apart from data on storms in tropical or subtropical regions, there are practically no studies that would give a specific answer. But we can speculate on this a bit. The stormy season in Poland usually begins at the end of April and lasts all summer. And when do these ambulances drive more often? In spring or in July or August? Presumably, however, these violent weather anomalies are more frequent in summer. And this, in turn, may indicate that the main reason for the deterioration of patients’ health (which may be associated with more frequent hospitalization) in the period before the storm is not the storm itself, but rather high temperature and heat waves. Intense atmospheric discharges have a huge impact on our physical and mental well-being. Storms can, after all, cause a feeling of fear, anxiety, difficulty in focusing attention. In addition, unfavorable biometeorological conditions related to a very warm weather environment and storms may have an adverse effect on the quality of rest (difficulty falling asleep, light sleep, disturbed sleep), which may lead to a discomfort when getting up in the morning.

Thunderstorms most often occur together with heat. As we observe it now. What’s more, after a storm, the air often does not cool down at all, so we have to continue operating in difficult conditions. Then there are two unfavorable phenomena in terms of health – namely high temperature accompanied by high air humidity. There are also rapid changes in atmospheric pressure before, during and after a storm, as well as air pollution. Research proves that the higher the concentration of airborne dust in a given area, the more violent the atmospheric phenomena occur there. And, as we know, air pollution itself also contributes to the increase in the frequency of hospitalizations due to cardiovascular diseases (e.g. heart attack or stroke).

These studies on the effects of storms in tropical and subtropical regions as well as the impact of heat waves on health showed that sudden changes in weather most often led to an increase in hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases (mainly coronary artery disease, hypertension, heart failure, Heart arythmia). There were also more frequent hospitalizations for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – these were caused by the concentration of pollen in the air, but also by the fact that high temperature causes congestion of the respiratory mucosa, which may exacerbate the symptoms of respiratory diseases. Patients with chronic kidney disease, in whom this ailment was getting worse, were also admitted to the hospital. This was probably due to dehydration caused by high temperature.

Who, then, is at the greatest risk of deterioration in health during a heat storm?

Primarily the elderly. Basically, the human body has certain mechanisms that allow it to adapt to such harsh conditions. The heart action speeds up, the blood vessels dilate, the blood flow through the skin increases, which helps with thermoregulation. But these mechanisms are efficient in younger people. The older a person gets, the worse thermoregulation mechanisms work. In young people, about 5 liters of blood flow through the skin per minute. In the case of an elderly person, it is only about 2,5 liters. In addition, we must also remember that seniors are often people with cardiovascular diseases – after a heart attack, with heart failure or arterial hypertension.

In Barcelona, ​​studies were carried out to establish the effect of night-time temperature on cardiovascular risk. It turned out that with the increase in the number of hours at night, during which the temperature was over 20 degrees C, the risk of death from cardiovascular causes increased. Additionally, the higher the temperature, the greater the risk. A similar phenomenon was also observed for diseases of the respiratory system.

Another study found that a 1 ° C increase in temperature increased the relative risk of a heart attack by 2%. But it is not everything. It has also been shown that the risk of death in the course of a heart attack is 64%. higher when it comes to it during heat waves. The results of the research indicate that during heat waves and unfavorable weather phenomena there are therefore certain mechanisms that not only increase the risk of exacerbation of chronic diseases, but also worsen the patient’s prognosis, if they occur.

Heat and storms are a bad time for people with high blood pressure. What about those with too low pressure? Can they, too, experience any negative effects during the storm?

One of the mechanisms the body has developed over the years of evolution to adapt to a heatwave is vasodilation (primarily of the skin). This, in turn, causes your blood pressure to drop. This means that people with initially too low blood pressure will also feel worse during heat waves or before a storm. Low blood pressure may suffer from drowsiness, lack of energy, headaches and dizziness. But the same will also be true for people with untreated or poorly treated high blood pressure. If their body has become accustomed to high blood pressure values, a sudden drop to book values ​​can also cause severe weakness.

In these situations, the best solution is to stay well hydrated – but only if the person does not have heart failure. An isotonic drink, two glasses of mineral water (preferably with lemon and mint) – this should help reduce discomfort caused by the suddenly dropping blood pressure.

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we devote it to one of the ways to deal with stress – the TRE method. What is it about? How does it release us from stress and trauma? Who is it intended for and who should definitely not use it? About this in the latest episode of our podcast.