Why do older patients die in a heatwave?

Regulating the damaged thermostat of the cities—Status, impacts and mitigation challenges

“…The impact of high ambient temperatures on human health is mainly investigated during the recent heat waves [87][88][89][90]. Medical research has found that exposure to high ambient temperatures may cause important cerebrovascular disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory problems, decrease the viscosity of blood and increase the risk of thrombosis and cause problems of thermoregulation and impaired kidney function [91,92]. Urban warming intensifies the impact of extreme heat events and cause higher fatalities.…”

Extreme temperatures and mortality in the North of Spain

“…Impact of high temperatures on people younger than 65 seems, nevertheless, to be negligible. Other authors suggest that extreme temperatures could have greater effect on mortality in regions where those temperatures are uncommon, probably due to the lack of climatic adaptation (Flynn et al 2005;Grundy 2006;Hajat et al 2006;Medina-Ramón et al 2006;Basu 2009;Stafoggia et al 2006), this is the case in Cantabria, where temperatures are usually moderate (Table 2).…”

Sustainable thermal technologies and care homes: Productive alignment or risky investment?

“…There is much established literature on the association between health and temperature, which connects old age with a decreasing ability of the body to cope with both low and high temperatures (Florez-Duquet and McDonald, 1998;Gomolin et al, 2005;Mackenbach et al, 1997). The use of certain medications common in old age, such as those with psychotropic properties, can also be an aggravating factor (Worfolk, 2000;Flynn et al, 2005). There was much awareness amongst care staff of these temperature-related vulnerabilities although far more associated with the cold than with heat; an imbalance noted by Brown and Walker (2008) as problematic for responses to heat wave conditions.…”