Although showers are expected in some areas of Spain in the coming days, August is progressing with temperatures above normal. Aemet even predicts that it will end up being one of the three hottest since records were recorded. It is well known that Extreme heat has a big impact on health. Although there are some pathologies that we are less aware of, such as thrombosis.
“The blood doesn’t circulate well because of the heat,” he tells EL ESPAÑOL. Juan Carlos ReverterPresident of the Spanish Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (SETH). For this expert, there are two scenarios related to heat that can lead to an increased risk of thrombosis.
On the one hand, during seasons with excessive temperatures, it is possible that some risk factors for thrombosis worsen. “In the heat, the risk of dehydration can be greater, which increases the viscosity of the blood,” explains Reverter, who also points out the lack of physical exercise as another element added to vascular dilation.
Another possibility of increased risk is heat stroke. In these cases, excessive clotting increases; and in addition to thrombosis, hemorrhages also occur simultaneously. “This This is a very serious clinical manifestation. although, fortunately, infrequent.
Regarding the impact of heat on thrombosis, the president of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), Andrés Cervantes, said in a recent interview that days with temperatures above 35ºC could exacerbate this pathologyas well as cardiovascular events and respiratory diseases.
Reverter, for his part, believes that it cannot be said with certainty that the danger increases beyond a certain value. Yes, you understand that.is proportional to the increase in temperatures“And as they increase, it will affect not only those who are most vulnerable because of their pre-existing conditions, but it will affect the entire population.
Risk factors for thrombosis include the contraceptive pill, smoking, and having had cancer. Sitting in a car or plane for long periods of time can also increase the risk; this is why the term “traveler’s thrombosis” was coined. But when it comes to the impact of heat, the SETH president gives greater importance in older age.
Venous thrombosis (whose link with heat is the most documented, according to Reverter) can occur in any population group, although after 60 years the probability of suffering from it increases. Therefore, they not only have increased risk of thrombosisbut they can also be more affected by the effects of heat.
Cause difficult to attribute
From SETH, they estimate that in Spain venous thrombosis affects 1 in 1,000 people per year. Among them, between 5 and 10% die. Worldwide, it is the third leading cause of cardiovascular mortality, behind acute myocardial infarction and strokes. “There are many cases,” laments Reverter, “but it has not been talked about enough. And even less about its relationship to heat.”
The head of the hemotherapy and hemostasis unit of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona is aware that it is difficult to perceive an increase in cases “in the daily life of a center.” Also It is difficult to attribute thrombosis to heat as the main cause. Despite this, and even if he cannot quantify it with certainty, he believes that there are more cases.
The doctor Juan Carlos Soutoof the haemostasis and thrombosis unit of the Sant Pau hospital, disagrees with Reverter by not finding sufficient evidence to guarantee that when temperatures rise, cases of thrombosis also increase: “Heat is not a risk factor in itself,” he comments to this newspaper.
Souto illustrates the lack of solid evidence with a simple search in Pubmed, the largest database of medical studies. Cross-referencing the terms “venous thrombosis” and “heat,” barely 250 results appear in the last 60 years, while the name of the pathology alone reaches 100,000.
If it is replaced by “temperature”, the number of searches is doubled compared to the previous one. Although the resulting studies do not observe significant differences between different periods of the year.May increase during heatwaves. But not because of high temperatures, but because of certain heat triggers,” Souto explains about the already mentioned consequences of dehydration or lack of exercise.
For this reason, recommendations from specialists they are clear: move periodically so as not to be permanently with immobile limbs (cause of thrombosis), maintain good hydration and try to reduce the temperature of the environment as much as possible.
