Lab experiment shows exactly how heat waves can put hearts into ‘oxygen debt’
When temperatures soar, so do heart attacks. Now, a lab experiment explains just how temperatures climbing into Fahrenheit’s three-digits can cause ischemia and potential heart attacks, all while international efforts to limit long-term warming seem like they’re running out of time.
The experiment, which gradually exposed participants to higher temperatures, showed that exposure to heat even while resting made participants’ hearts work harder, ramping up blood flow through the hearts of healthy young and old people, but hitting narrowed passages in one-third of older trial participants who had existing coronary artery disease.
