Heat warnings have been issued for the Alberta and Calgary area this week. Important to take care of your heart health with these weather warnings.

CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, August 9, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death and hospitalization. How can we minimize the summer stroke or heart attack?

“The summer heat can spur on heart attacks and strokes in individuals who are at risk of heart disease. Therefore,
it is important to keep our heart safe when the temperature rises,” says Diamond Fernandes, director of the Heart
Fit Clinic.

While exercise is medicine, it is important to take proper precautions to ensure your safety when heading out into
the heat. First, avoid strenuous activity in the hottest part of the day. Ensure your fitness level is up to par and
that you have built up your exercise capacity. Especially when it’s hot outside, it is key to properly warm up and
cool down. Start off slowly and make sure to cool down properly. Often the heart rate can stay elevated post
exercise and stay at risk of blood pressure fluctuations.

Secondly, understand your cardiovascular risk. “Most heart patients think they are healthy, right up to the week
before they have a heart attack. Information can lead to prevention.” Fernandes says. The Heart Fit Clinic has the
most accurate screening tests to detect your risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years. “We now have
the ability to tell someone an accident is about to happen so they can choose to take the heart healthy highway.”
An exercise stress test, while a good start, misses about a third of people with heart disease. That’s why it’s
important for people to understand their risk with the cardiac PULS (Protein Unstable Lesion Signature) test.
(available at the Heart Fit Clinic)

Next, dress appropriately in loose-fitting clothing, and wear a hat and sunglasses.
People with increased weight, diabetes, high blood pressure and/or heart disease have to understand the effects
of medications and how they can increase the body’s response to heat, potentially interfering with the heat
regulation. Heart medication and/or blood pressure medication can deplete essential electrolytes, leading to
quicker dehydration, blood pressure changes, and/or heat exhaustion or stroke.

Keep hydrated! Dehydration is a prominent symptom of heat exhaustion. “When people experience heat
exhaustion, it makes their hearts weaker and may result in rapid pulse rates. This puts them at risk of a heart
attack,” Fernandes adds. People can also experience fast and shallow breathing, muscle cramps, and /or dizziness
and nausea.

Calgary’s Heart Fit Clinic is the leader in cardiovascular health and we want to ensure that the people of Alberta
minimize their risk of heart disease during the hot summer months. While it is important to get a healthy dose of
vitamin D and keep active, be sure to practice safe heart health in the heat.

For more information, please contact the Heart Fit Clinic at www.HeartFit.ca

Diamond Fernandes
Heart Fit Clinic
(403) 870-4348
email us here