As the UK faces more soaring temperatures, a scientist has revealed how heatstroke kills – and can still be fatal even after your body cools down. Thursday this week is set to see the peak of the latest period of extreme heat, with forecasters predicting the mercury reaching 36C (97F) in south-east England, and up to 35C likely across central and eastern England.
Now scientist Borko Amulic, associate professor of immunology at the University of Bristol’s School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, has urged Britons to understand why heatstroke is “so often fatal”. He shockingly revealed how “cooling removes the trigger, but it doesn’t stop the reaction” and you can still perish from heatstroke days after you have cooled down.
Professor Amulic said: “Heatstroke happens when the body’s core temperature climbs above 40°C.
“This can cause the brain to malfunction, resulting in confusion and seizures. It can also cause muscles to break down and flood the bloodstream with damaging cellular waste.
“All of this is dangerous on its own. But direct heat damage doesn’t fully explain why patients can die hours or days after their temperature has returned to normal. The answer lies in the immune system’s response.”
Continuing in The Conversation, he explained that extreme heat could trick the body’s immune system into going into overdrive, even though there was no infection to fight.
And this could ultimately lead to kidney failure or brain damage.
Older adults and babies are among the people most vulnerable to the effects of heatstroke, he said, along with people with heart disease, diabetes or obesity, and those on common medications like diuretics, antidepressants and blood pressure drugs. Alcohol, dehydration and social isolation also increase the risk.
Professor Amulic addeD: “Athletes and outdoor workers face a different problem: pushing their bodies past what their cooling systems can handle.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
