When Temperatures Rise, So Do Health Problems

"A little Shakespeare came to mind during a recent shift in the Boston emergency room where I work."

"'Good Mercutio, let's retire,' Romeo's cousin Benvolio says. 'The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, and, if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl.'"

"It was hot in Boston, too, and people were brawling. The steamy summer months always seem to bring more than their fair share of violence."

"But the ER was full of more than just brawlers. Heart attacks, strokes, respiratory problems — the heat appeared to make everything worse."

"I wasn't the first to notice this effect. In 1938, a statistician named Mary Gover found a surprising association between heat waves and increased mortality from all causes. Only about a quarter of deaths during these periods could be attributed to heatstroke, a dangerous form of heat illness that occurs when temperatures outstrip the body's ability to shed heat."

"In heatstroke, proteins begin to unravel once the core temperature exceeds 104 degrees. Enzymes become inert. Cells' ability to produce energy fails near 106, ultimately causing multiple organ failure, shock and death."