How do you cope with hot weather?

[Liz]

Hey Everybody -
It's been hot hot hot here lately, which is unusual for coastal Northern California and I'm not used to it! My recovery has been going well and I've been feeling pretty good, but these last few days when our house gets really hot in the late afternoon I've been experiencing a lot of weird symptoms - my chest feeling heavy (like an elephant sitting on my chest), trouble breathing, dizziness, nausea, etc. Once I realized it was caused by the heat I've been hanging out in my husband's home office in the late afternoon until it cools off because that is the only part of the house that is air conditioned, and that's working for me, so I'm set as long as the power grid doesn't go down! But this has made me curious about the effects of heat on heart conditions.

Those of you in hot climates who deal with this all the time, this might seem like a dumb question, but do your symptoms get worse in the heat? And if yes, do you know why? What is the physiology? Were you more sensitive to heat after OHS? If yes, has the sensitivity decreased over time? Do you have strategies for dealing with the heat when you have to go out in it? I saw Der Bermeister's thread about cooling apparel which is very interesting.

We're supposed to get our normal cooling fog and coastal winds rolling in over the next couple days so we should be back to our usual balmy summer weather, and I'm sure looking forward to that! But for future heat waves, and when we travel to hot climates, I'd love to hear any tips you might have.

Thanks!
Liz

 

[Georgia]

I think that any temperature extreme so soon after ohs is very difficult for your body to deal with. For various reasons, you ability to regulate your body's temp is a problem - see many threads about too hot, too cold, sweats, etc. And that's in normal inside temperatures. Heat and humidity are very hard on anyone unaccustomed to them; to you they're dangerous. So continue to loll about in the air conditioned office and pamper yourself. In another month or so you'll have much less trouble with this.

Glad to hear your recovery is going so well.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I had my surgery on June 30, 1998, so my recovery period was through July and August - 95-100 degree temps here in Texas. How I handled it can be summed up in 2 words - central air-conditioning (or is that 3 words?). I would suspect that most others in hot climates have central air as well. I don't know how you others make it when it gets hot. I was visiting in-laws in Michigan one summer and the temperature reached about 94. They only have one window unit in the den and our upstairs bedroom was sweltering. I also felt extremely fatigued, dizzy, and found it difficult to breathe. This was before my surgery so it's probably more a condition of your body's response to an extreme temperature. Dress cool and drink plenty of cold water.

 

[Superbob]

Heat and humidity can be very dangerous, even if you're in good shape. I do my exercise on a stationary bike in the cool of the basement on extremely hot days. Drink plenty of water. Think about winter when snow covers the mountains,

 

[Marguerite53]

The whole country is hot this week! In the northwest, it has been our one annual heat wave, I hope!

I don't have a very good self-cooling mechanism. My face and scalp do not perspire, and the rest of me, very little. I get tomato red in the face......a good indication to move to cooler surrounds. As a kid, I guess I'd just stop and find cool. As an adult, I've found central A/C! I wish I knew why my body overheats that way, but I've never found an answer. My mother is the same way so I just figured it was my dumb luck. It is somewhat limiting.

My best trick to cool down is to take a damp washcloth or small towel (or even a wet bandana/scarf) and twist it loosely and drape it over the back of my neck. It warms up after abit, so you can shake it out and cool it, or re-wet it. I do this at cardiac rehab and it helps enormously (although my face still gets red and it does worry some of the PTs). There are some cooling devices out there that mimick this trick, but their expensiveness has never appealed to me.

Many of us feel temperature changes more during post surgery. I was cold for the first time in my life (and slightly anemic). It went away after about 6 weeks.

Please honor your body's feelings and keep working to stay cool. Check in with your surgeon or cardio for any symptoms. A nurse in one of those offices may have more individual answers for your responses. They sound normal to me, but I would check in with them.

Hope you keep your electricity!! California is having a nasty time with all this.

Marguerite

 

[hensylee]

extremes of heat OR cold are bad for anyone with a heart condition. That is a known.

I have been hearing about California and it's OLD electrical systems and brownouts. It is very hot where I live, we have temps in upper 90s and low 100s in summer.

One thing you can do to help yourself, is get a cool wet cloth or towel, put it over your unclothed body, point a fan at yourself. Instant air conditioning. Also drink water to keep yourself hydrated.

In Mesa, my daughter had in her house a machine that was a blower that went through water and kept their house cool and moist. It's so dry there, everybody carries a bottle of water wherever they go.

 

[marky]

I have always LOVED the heat..the hotter the better, but I must admit that since my OHS I am very intolerant of the heat.

It has been very hot in PA too, with very high humidity..
The advice you got so far was very good. I would add.. to DRINK DRINK DRINK..and not just water.. if you are perspiring you need replenishment.. Ihad a pretty bad bout of arrhythmias a few weeks ago and needed to get more electrolytes in my systerm..
EAT lots of melon or berries or high water nutritionaly dense fruits.. I freeze mine so they are cool and refreshing.
Also a trick my dh swears by..
he takes a bucket (cooler whatever) and puts ice water in it.. then takes a hand towel and soaks it and wraps the back of his neck..IT will immediately cool his core body. He plays softball and he is a big fellow and overweight so if it works on him..It really works!

Now go have a cool lemonade.. put your feet up and wrap the back of your neck with an ice cold towel and surf the web!

 

[Turkey Hunter]

My job can put me into extream conditions (125+ degrees) with full body protective suits, ect.... So I am somewhat used to the heat and it's effects on my body.

If you have had arrythmia issues, the extream heat can put you right back into an arrythmia without any additional stress other than the heat. Be careful and be sure to stay in the air conditioning. Remember, lots of water is always going to make it easier on your body.

 

[Harrybaby666]

Me....I have to avoid the humidity and heat like the plague...

Me....I have to avoid the humidity and heat like the plague...

I get so short of breath and tired, not to mention the chest pains...I try and stay in as much as possible and run the A/C and when I am out driving, I have the A/C going as much as I can afford to...(gas prices you know...LOL). I also find that getting into some cool water helps alot, even if it is just to soak in it up to your neck... Harrybaby

 

[Liz]

The fog is here!

The fog is here!

The heat wave has broken in our little corner of the world and we're back to our usual weather patterns - I've never been so happy to see the fog in all my life!

Thanks all for your support and practical suggestions. It's good to know that there are things that can help cooling down even if the power goes out.

My heart goes out to all who have suffered through this heat wave, the loss of human and animal life has been truly tragic. May our beautiful earth soon return to normal patterns and may we learn to take better care of each other and the earth.

Thanks for helping take good care of me!
Love,
Liz

 

[Granbonny]

I watched the early morning news and heard Paul Harvey on radio in car..say, today, the coolest spot in all America was Miami, Fla. .Sometimes, I think A/C is bad, too...Like you leave your A/C house..You get in your A/C car..then you walk ...like Grocery store, ect. Those parking lots are sooo hot.Then you go into A/C grocery store, ect.......I have been cleaning my daughter's age 104 year old home they sold...Just an attic fan with windows opened.Never got hot. just a nice cool breeze blowing thruout the house. Would get back in my car with A/C/ and drive an hour...Get home..Hot/cold, ect... My grocery store is so cold...cashiers wear warm clothes. I don't think it is good.....I was raised in the 40's..50's..and we never had A/C/ and we grew up healthy with never colds, ect.And this was in Alabama.....I wish we could open our windows, but have storm winters for winter. Too much trouble to remove them...I also think it is bad on our pets...My Papillon is used to A/C/ when I walk him..he wants to sit and breathe the A/C in car coming home...and runs to bathroom where it is really cool..when we get home...Bonnie

 

[twinmaker]

I had an especially hard time for the two and a half years that we lived in Florida. My hands and feet would swell and that wasn't fun. I did play tennis there in the fall and spring but even during those months, Tampa was hot and humid. The first time I came in from playing a match, I thought my husband was going to have a stroke. He took one look at my red face and the sweat and almost forbid me to play. ALMOST. I love the game too much to give it up. I did stay in the AC the rest of the time though. The heat in Florida is like the cold in other places. You just stay inside. LINDA