The proportion of emergency-room visits linked to heat skyrocketed in Texas and surrounding states starting in June, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, with some weeks surpassing levels seen last year. Rates soared in other parts of the country, including the Southwest, in late June and July.
Doctors in Arizona and Texas said it’s the worst summer yet, with a higher number of patients coming in and some needing treatment for severe conditions like heat stroke, when high body temperatures can damage vital organs and sometimes lead todeath. Temperatures have set monthly and all-time records around the country in the past month, spiking well above 38°C in many places. There’s little chance of relief soon: Most of the US has a high chance of warmer-than-normal temperatures through August 3, according to the Climate Prediction Center.
In Phoenix, where temperatures were on track to hit 43°Celsius or higher for a 22nd consecutive day on Friday, the Valleywise Health system has called in extra staff to handle its highest volume of patients since the pandemic.
Summertime heated-related illnessesare “not an uncommon problem,” in Phoenix, said Valleywise Chief Clinical Officer Michael White, “but the number of patients that we’re seeing now with heat exposures has risen. ” At least 18 people died of heat-related causes this year through July 15 in Maricopa County. A further 69 deaths are under probe.
The Texas Health system’s 20 emergency rooms saw 181 patients complaining of heat stroke and heat exhaustion in June, the most for that month in records going back to 2019.
Many patients have relatively mild illnesses, doctors said, including heat exhaustion and rashes from sun exposure. Others have had extreme cases of heat stroke, and may be given IV fluids or sometimes wrapped in specially designed bags filled with ice.