Heatstroke still a threat

Islamabad : Extreme hot and humid weather is persisting in most parts of the country including the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, still there are chances of incidences of serious heat-related threats like heat stroke that according to health experts can be taken as the most severe form of heat-related illnesses with mortality rate ranging from 10 per cent to 80 per cent.

Heatstroke, the most severe form of heat-related illness is defined as a body temperature higher than 40.6 degree Celsius (105.1 degree Fahrenheit) due to environmental heat exposure.

Many health experts are of the view that the monsoon has already set in and in the existing humid weather conditions there are rare chances of incidence of heat stroke though the healthcare facilities are still receiving cases of heat stroke.

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences received as many as four cases of heat stroke in the first week of July though none of them needed intensive care, said Intensive Care Physician at PIMS Dr Muhammad Haroon while talking to ‘The News’ on Sunday.

He added that all the four patients who are labourers were discharged after achieving complete cure in two to three days.

He said that in cases of delay in treatment, the mortality rate of heat stroke can be as high as 80 per cent however early diagnosis and cooling may reduce mortality rate to 10 per cent.

He said there are two forms of heatstroke, one exertional heatstroke (EHS) generally occurs in young individuals who engage in strenuous physical activity for a prolonged period of time in a hot environment and the other classic non-exertional heatstroke (NEHS) that more commonly affects sedentary elderly individuals, persons who are chronically ill, and very young persons.

Both the two types of heatstroke are associated with high morbidity and mortality, especially when therapy is delayed, he said. He added that reporting of cases of heat stroke recently at PIMS hints that heat stroke is still a risk and preventive measures are still needed to avoid it.

Labourers who work in outdoors in direct sunlight are exposed to immense heat and they are at the maximum risk of suffering from heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses, said Dr. Haroon.

Studies reveal that in many cases, blood cells burst causing massive bleeding due to persistent heat. Also there are chances of ceasing of the cardiac activity at high temperatures while the consistent high temperature in environment may cause stiffness of muscles bringing them in contracted state. If body temperature of a person goes up and the body stops sweating, it may be heat stroke and the person should immediately report to the nearest healthcare facility.