[Anchor]
Myocardial infarction is commonly known as a condition to watch out for during the winter, but it can be just as dangerous in weather like this. Heavy sweating increases the likelihood that thickened blood will block blood vessels, requiring special caution.
Reporter Han Sung-hee has the story.
[Reporter]
An elderly woman in her 80s suffering from severe dehydration was rushed to the emergency room.
She was suffering from a myocardial infarction, caused by a blockage in the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.
[Lee Jin-ho / Professor of Cardiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital: (The patient) stayed in a hot environment for a long time, and lacking energy, she wasn't able to drink enough water. Her dehydration symptoms were extremely severe, and due to the dehydration....]
During heatwaves like the one we are experiencing today, our bodies sweat to lower body temperature, which leads to dehydration.
When body fluids decrease, the blood becomes sticky, forming blood clots commonly known as thrombi. These clots can block blood vessels and trigger myocardial infarction or stroke.
[Lee Jin-ho / Professor of Cardiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital: (Is this part that looks like this blocked?) Yes. The whitish patches visible inside the dark area are all blood clots. Blood should flow smoothly through the vessel, but it is blocked.]
This is why myocardial infarctions occur just as frequently during extreme heatwaves as they do in winter, when blood vessels suddenly contract due to cold air.
According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the cumulative number of acute myocardial infarction patients over the past five years was over 13,500 higher in the summer than in the winter.
In 2018, which recorded 31 heatwave days, the burden of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases surged more than fourfold compared to the years before and after, when the number of heatwave days was about half that.
Older adults, who often fail to feel thirsty despite sweating heavily amid heatwaves, are particularly at risk.
[Yoo Jung-bun / Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul: I usually don't drink water. I don't drink much. About a cup a day?]
[Seo Sang-ho / Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul: You need to drink a lot of water, but I just can't bring myself to drink much.]
[Lee Jin-ho / Professor of Cardiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital: If you remain exposed to hot summer days continuously, it's comparable to running a marathon all day long. By the time you feel thirsty, it is highly likely that the water in your body has already been depleted....]
Before feeling thirsty in the heat, it is best to drink water frequently—about one cup every 1 to 2 hours rather than a large amount all at once.
(Photoed by Yang Hyun-chul, Designed by Park Tae-young)
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