What is dizziness in heat?
Dizziness in heat is the occurrence of a dizzy feeling or vertigo attack at elevated temperatures. Accordingly, dizziness in heat occurs mainly in summer. This is related to a disturbance of the blood circulation, as the body tries to regulate against the heat.
Dizziness is often accompanied by other symptoms such as headaches and nausea. People with a weak circulation or older people are particularly affected. Accordingly, care must be taken to ensure that sufficient fluid is absorbed.
Causes
The cause of dizziness in heat is in most cases a dysregulation of the blood circulation. To counteract excessive heating of the body, the body begins to dilate the blood vessels. This allows the heat to be released more effectively.
However, this also causes the blood pressure to drop and the blood flows more slowly through the body. This leads to dizziness, especially when getting up too quickly. In addition, there is the loss of fluid and electrolytes through sweating.
This is also a mechanism of the body for releasing heat and leads to a slower blood flow. When dizziness occurs in hot weather, it is usually due to a circulatory disorder. This is generally weakened by the heat.
In addition, the body tries to release heat by sweating and dilating the vessels. This impairs the circulation, which can be particularly noticeable when the body position changes rapidly. Furthermore, the lack of fluid is often aggravated by insufficient drinking. Many people underestimate the amount of water they should drink to maintain circulation. Especially in summer, when it is very hot, the lack of electrolytes and water can lead to dizziness.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of heat dizziness can usually be made on the basis of the medical history, i.e. the doctor-patient conversation. The temporal relationship between the occurrence of dizziness and the time spent in the heat is groundbreaking. Depending on the additional symptoms, possible further causes should be clarified. In addition, it should be checked whether the blood pressure is incorrectly set. This can be the case with older people, for example, if a previously existing high blood pressure is too strongly reduced by medication.
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