LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Scorching temperatures are here to stay in Kentuckiana this week, and it's something doctors said should be taken seriously.
Experts said there are things that can be done to stay safe during the heat and avoid some of the most common heat-related illnesses.
People in Louisville staying cool during the scorching temperatures on Friday, July 28, 2023. (WDRB photo)
Muggy, hot summer days can be dangerous.
"It's so hot, it's very humid," said Tandalaya Thomas. Thomas's daughter, Tandalaya Hall, also said, "This heat is ridiculous. I don't like it."
But it can be even more dangerous for those who don't take it seriously.
"I kind of feel like heat exhaustion is something that is 100% preventable," said David Fliesher. "That being said, if people don't recognize the risks, they could be exposed and put themselves at adverse risk."
In the past summer, Hall said she got sick from the heat while working in a warehouse.
"I was just overworking myself, probably not drinking enough water like I should've been, and started feeling really light-headed," she said.
Others said that while they hadn't experienced a heat-related illness themselves, they have witnessed the panic.
"In the moment, you're just thinking about making sure the person is OK, getting them the help they need," said David Elias.
Heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat rash, all side effects of overheating. That's why Dr. Sean Stewart, with the Norton Heart & Vascular Institute, said you can never hydrate early enough.
"That critical rise in temperature then leads to multi-system organ damage, potentially, and is a medical emergency," Stewart said.
FILE -- This undated image shows the Clark Memorial Bridge (also known as the 2nd Street Bridge) that carries traffic on US 31 from downtown Louisville, Ky., to Jeffersonville, Ind. (WDRB/Archive)
He added that there are two types of heat stroke to be aware of. The first, is non-exertional — such as leaving an infant in a hot, locked car. The second is exertional — like an athlete running down a field.
Symptoms include excessive sweating, fatigue, muscle cramps and dehydration.
"As you heat up, your body is looking for ways to cool down and in humid climates that are extremely hot. It's very difficult for the body to find those mechanisms to do so," said Stewart.
Experts said staying inside this weekend as the heat persists is the safest option.
New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the risk for heart attacks increases on hot and polluted days.
Researchers looked at more than 200,000 deaths from heart attacks. The study found that there was a high risk that someone could die of a heart attack during extreme heat or high levels of pollution.
The combo of both poor air quality and heat waves could double the risk.
Stewart said he has been paying attention to the new study.
"If you looked at those people who were exposed to higher air pollution, and we've obviously been exposed to more air pollutants recently with the Canadian fires and all the air pollutants coming this way, you know, the causality is uncertain," he said. "But potentially you would think that exacerbating airway exchange and the sending of an asthma-reactive-airway type of event, that's also causing you to make it more difficult for you to cool down and exchange gases in the setting of high heat."
Researchers said during those times, the heart is both working hard and under stress.
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