Climate linked to California ER visits
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk of heading to the emergency room for certain conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, kidney disease and low blood pressure rises slightly as temperature and humidity increase, according to a new study from California.
Researchers also found that for a few conditions, including aneurysm and high blood pressure, higher temperatures were tied to a drop in ER visits.
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For each 10-degree increase in temperature, they saw increased ER visits for a variety of conditions - from a 1.7 percent rise in ER visits for heart disease to a 4.3 percent rise in diabetes visits to a 12.7 percent increase in visits for low blood pressure. Conditions diagnosed as heat illness or heat stroke rose nearly four-fold for every 10-degree climb on the thermometer, and dehydration visits increased by 25 percent.
Although the study could not pinpoint why certain health conditions are more likely to send people to the ER on hotter days, Basu said it likely has to do with how our bodies adapt to heat.
"Blood flow goes from vital organs to subcutaneous, right under your skin, so you're taking blood away from vital organs such as your heart. It's what your body does to cool down, but some susceptible subgroups might not be able to take that diversion and that's why you end up going to the ER," she said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-climate-linked-to-california-bre8941fi-20121005,0,1395566.story